Middle East workshops
Sessions will help conserve photograph collections in the region
9:49 a.m., April 18, 2011--The University of Delaware’s leadership in the Iraqi Institute for the Conservation of Antiquities and Heritage is just one of the ways in which UD art conservators are helping to preserve cultural treasures in the Middle East.
Another three-year project recently was authorized to promote the awareness and preservation of photograph collections from North Africa and the Arab Peninsula through western Asia. UD’s Department of Art Conservation will work in collaboration with the Arab Image Foundation, supported by funding from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and the Getty Conservation Institute.
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The conservation and preservation of photography of the Middle East is still in its infancy despite the existence of many invaluable photograph collections, according to experts in the field. Organizers of the new project say that the scarcity of formally trained photograph conservators in this region makes the need for informed preservation professionals essential to care for the wealth of photographic heritage dating from the early 19th century to the present.
The initiative will identify significant collections in the region and develop and lead three eight-day institutes at regional universities and cultural institutions, tentatively planned for Beirut, Cairo and Doha, Qatar. Participants are expected to be custodians of major photographic collections throughout the region.
“The Arab Image Foundation is pleased to be an integral part of this photograph preservation initiative,” says Zeina Arida, director of the foundation. “We look forward to partnering with colleagues and building momentum in the preservation of the many important repositories for photography that document and celebrate the history and culture of the Middle East.”
For more on UD’s work in Iraq, see the related UDaily article.
Photos copyright Arab Image Foundation