President Michael D. Higgins of Ireland on Arts & Society

President Michael D. Higgins of Ireland on Arts & Society

President Higgins’ letter to Hi Excellency Mr. David Sassoli, President of the European Parliament

4th June, 2020

Dear President Sassoli,

As a former President of the Council of Culture Ministers of the European Union, I write to you to stress the need for, and seek support for initiatives that I believe are urgently needed to make good a lacuna we have experienced in our European Union – recognising and realising the contribution of culture, cultural workers and artists. When I had the honour of being President of the Council of Culture Ministers of the European Union during the Irish Presidency of the Union in 1996, not only in that year but so often before and since, I heard the phrase attributed to Jean Monnet – nobody ever gave the source of the phrase – ‘If I were starting again I would start with culture’.

I write to suggest that in our response to Covid-19 and its devastating consequences for cultural practitioners, we have been given a golden opportunity to address this neglected dimension of the European Union’s possibilities and capacities, be it in terms of resources, heritage, shared expression and life by seriously addressing the issues of income, resources and sustenance needs of cultural workers, who have been among those who have suffered most due to the Covid-19 pandemic. I speak of cultural workers in general and performance artists in particular who are affected by both lost audience venues, and conditions of production made near impossible.

Let us, as holders of public offices, past and present, in our countries and the European Union ask ourselves: How often have cultural workers, creativity and performances been used to enhance public celebrations, gatherings, national aspirations and affirmations? Not only on such occasions but in the rhythms of our shared community life, have we not received renewal and inspiration from a sharing of culture, our own and that of others?

Now the livelihoods of workers in the cultural space are in the greatest danger of disappearing from the public world and they are seeking our help, not for themselves, I suggest, but for a version of the European Union that represents so much of our hopes for the future – the rich diverse culture of our peoples inherited and contemporary.

We are facing an emergency in the cultural sphere in terms of income, venues, public access, participation, and may I say social cohesion and fulfilment.

Is it not now the time to place access to culture among the necessary infrastructural spending and investment in provisions for Universal Basic Services? Surely, it cannot be beyond us to bring into being a system of support and solidarity for artists, from the emerging to the established? As the Union resumes its necessary commercial and retail transactions, hopefully in a way that shows a reflection having been made on a better fit between ecology, society and economics, can we not look also to the public spaces, the venues for public performance, the basic needs of emerging and classical expressions of all the arts and say – “We commit. This can be an enduring expression of our European Union where culture is made safe for the future and for sharing with the world. We salute the creative expression of the peoples of the European Union and the living conditions of all those who make our lives more fully human by such work. They will have our support and protection.”

I offer my support for such an initiative and would appreciate your support for any set if initiatives that will help achieve the making safe of the space of culture and performance in our European Union for now and into the future.

We have attempted, as a Union small steps before with which I was associated. I so remember how in the past we very nearly succeeded with the Yehudi Menuhin initiative which was to ensure that every child in the European Union would have access to a musical instrument. We didn’t succeed but we tried.

Now we can succeed with a strong step in the most urgent of times. Our artists of all ages and backgrounds, contemporary and classical, need our solidarity now. Let us, together, help them and fill the gap Jean Monnet identified. Let us be able to say “We in our time recognised the importance of ‘The Cultural Space’.

Yours sincerely,

Michael D. Higgins
Uachtarán na hÉireann
President of Ireland

Inspiring message of President Michael D. Higgins of Ireland about the critical importance of the arts in society.

Conversations with Cornelis van Lit (Scholar)

Name : Cornelis van Lit | Country : The Netherlands | Years Active : 9 | Website: Cornelis van Lit  & Digital Orientalist 

Q – How do you describe your work to people who don’t know anything about your field? 

Did you know the vast majority of what people have written is in handwriting? Think about it; the vast majority of all ideas worth putting on paper, our collective memory, is to a very large part only available in manuscripts, many of these ideas surviving in only one copy. Of these manuscripts, again, the vast majority predates our own time. And this makes reading those ideas pretty difficult; accessing and deciphering ancient manuscripts is an actual skill. It is my job to roam back rooms of libraries, scouring shelves for manuscripts worth picking up. Sometimes there are centuries in between me and the last reader: I wipe the dust off and let the ideas come to life once more. I am particularly trained to do this for Arabic and Persian manuscripts from the Islamic world. And I am a pioneer in doing this in a digital environment, developing new tools (software) to do this type of work better, faster, and in ways unimagined before.

Q – What inspired you to become a curator?

I am a collector and curator of digitized manuscripts. When I studied at McGill (Montreal), I had a designated carrel in the library. I put all kinds of book on there, and one day I was reading a letter by the famous theologian Fakhr al-Dīn Rāzī to a friend, and in it he referred to a passage of a certain, lesser-known work by Ibn Sīnā. I looked up and saw exactly that book sitting on the shelf of my carrel, literally within hand’s reach. I suddenly felt so close to Rāzī, like he was talking directly to me. I want it to be like that always. Immersing myself among digitized manuscripts, I think I can get very close to it. 

And yet, there is another reason. I have seen manuscripts for which I would not be surprised that were I to drive over them with a tank, the tank would be damaged, not the manuscript. Not so with digitized manuscripts: one bit or byte switches and the whole file is corrupt. In the digital world, for something to be sustained, multiple copies need to exist. This is not forgery nor is there anything inauthentic about it, since every instance of the same file is equally the original. As a close observer of the digital ecosystem of manuscripts, I am worried that not enough copies exist. We cannot rely on institutions or government agencies only, but we need to take our responsibility in this as well. I am trying to do my part.

Daimyo Konishi Yukinaga (1555-1600) who led the initial forces under Toyotomi Hideyoshi to invade Korea in the Seven-Year War - more info on Digital Orientalist (link above)
Daimyo Konishi Yukinaga (1555-1600) who led the initial forces under Toyotomi Hideyoshi to invade Korea in the Seven-Year War – more info on Digital Orientalist (link above)

Q – Why did you choose this particular field of research?

One thing that has remained true for Islamic Studies, my field of expertise, is that behind every answer there is another question. Some of these questions that I have come up with over the years have become higher specific, requiring more and more unique source material, but the answer-question dynamic between me and the cultural heritage of the Islamic world has remained fresh and enticing up until today.

Nasir al-Din Tusi (1201-1274)’s 700th death anniversary, Iran, 1974 – Persian polymath, architect, philosopher, physician, scientist, and theologian.

Q – What is the most memorable object you’ve researched, or worked with?

This is only one of many fond memories, but I distinctly recall bringing a group of students to the Rare Books and Manuscript collection at Yale to look at a manuscript that is the closet physical artifact we have to the giant of Islamic theology, al-Ghazali, who died in 1111. You can imagine what kind of precious object this is. And yet, the librarians simply prepped a room for us and let us in unattended. I asked each student to hold the book in their hands for a moment. To feel it, weigh it. They were clearly impressed and rightly so. Here we were. The same library that would utterly refuse use to hold their copy of the Gutenberg bible (arguably replaceable) handed us this irreplaceable tome which a direct student of al-Ghazzali wrote by hand, all 460 pages. It was a good day.

 
Nicholas Roerich (Никола́й Константи́нович Ре́рих) 1874-1947, by his son Svetoslav Roerich, 1933

Q – Do you recall when was the first time you heard of the phrase “Silk Road”? What was your first impression of it?

The earliest memory I have is when I was reading a National Geographic special on Alexander the Great. I was amazed at how far the Greeks had come and not only to conquer but to settle as well. What ancient, complicated machinery that trading route must have been. I was very impressed by the melting pot of languages, cultures, and philosophies that must have occurred. 

Q – What is your most memorable experience of travelling along the Silk Road?

Here I definitely want to say I have yet to make that experience. Although my life right now is not particularly suited for extended travels along the Silk Road, there definitely is some desire to do so. I am an avid reader of Nicholas Roerich’s philosophical diaries and look forward to follow his footsteps in one shape or form. 

Q – Which city or region along the Silk Road are you looking forward to visit, for the first time?

Put me down for Herat. Probably a tad dangerous for a European like myself, but the philosophical and philological heritage that this city produced over the centuries is astounding. And quite a lot of ancient architecture remains erect, functioning even.

Cornelis van Lit, The World of Image in Islamic Philosophy: Ibn Sīna, Suhrawardī, Shahrazūrī and Beyond, 2017

Q – What language(s) spoken along the Silk Road have you studied, or would wish to study? 

I have a decent command of Arabic, Persian and Greek, in so far as they apply to ancient sources. I once did a primer in Sogdian, one of the Silk Road languages par excellence, and thought it to be quite funny that every third or fourth sentence that the instructor uttered was “but what this word means we simply don’t know.”

Q – What is the hardest part of your work that people don’t realize?

There are plenty of things that I do, pursue for hours and days, that end up being a dead end and never make it in a publication. My main output is the written word: articles and books. And once it is in print it can look so simple and obvious. But if it looks simple it is because I did a good job in presenting the topic, by confidently cutting out all facts and tidbits that are in this case merely noise.

Q – What is your dream (or even fantasy) research project?

Free access to an uncatalogued manuscript library somewhere remote along the Silk Road, without any time or monetary constraint to publish or go home. Just days of free roaming, keeping an eye out for a copy of a text once deemed lost, slowly bringing organization to the collection. I just know that there are manuscripts, entire collections, just sitting on shelves, desperately looking forward to a reader.

Ancient Sogdiana, 312 or 313 CE, Ink on paper, H. 42 × W. 24.3 cm, Discovered in 1907 at Watchtower T.XII , west of Dunhuang 敦煌 , Gansu Province, China
Nasir al-Din Tusi (1201-1274)’s 700th death anniversary, Iran, 1974 – Persian polymath, architect, philosopher, physician, scientist, and theologian.

 

Q – If it were possible, what historic figure would you like to meet? Why?

I would be happy with anyone, of course. But I would be especially curious to meet 13th century’s Nasir al-Din Tusi, a true polymath if there ever was one. I would want to find out if he is the ill-tempered, arrogant grouch that I suspect he is, and whether that is because he is the smartest person in the Islamic world at that time and he knows it, or whether it’s just a case of awful personality. 

Q – What movie best depicts a historic or aesthetic aspect of the Silk Road?

I will have to skip this one. Not good with movies. After half an hour I get restless and want to get back to work.

Q – What music or soundtrack most embodies the sound of the Silk Road for you?

I never thought of that. I once heard a performance in Bursa, Turkey, of a musical piece that was composed in the 16th century, using instruments reconstructed to what they might have been at the time. It was enchanting, something really different from today’s music.  

Q – What fundamental change(s) in your work do you anticipate in the post-pandemic world?

We will have to see how the conference circuit picks up again and how crowded the job market will be, now that both are on hold for pretty much the entire year of 2020. With a shrinking economy, for sure we too will feel the pain, but only in the longer run. For example, my current project runs until 2022. Who knows what type of funding will be available then.

Q – What modern day cultural trend (sports, music, art, architecture) has its roots in the Silk Road – that majority do not know?

Ever heard of a little thing called… paper? Here we come back to Sogdian, the language I pointed out earlier. Already in the very first few centuries of our common era, people would write messages in Sogdian on paper, not parchment, to send with a mail man thousands of miles along the Silk Road, back and forth. What is so great about paper is that, essentially, the product has remained fairly stable since its invention and wherever it is introduced it is met with great enthusiasm. Today, despite rapid digitization, paper is omnipresent. In terms of lasting impact it is right up there with refined sugar (which, I believe, incidentally also first spread over the Silk Road).

Conversations with Vania Assis (Conservator)

Working on Dunhuang Scrolls, courtesy Vania Assis

Name : Vania Assis | Country : Portugal based, worked in London & Hong Kong | Website: On Twitter (website under construction)| Years Active : 12  

Q – How do you describe your work to people who don’t know anything about your field?

As a Conservator, that is something that happens frequently. Our work usually happens back stage and whilst what we do with collections is essential, our activities are very discrete. Our role is to support museums and cultural institutions by preserving their objects, through physical conservation treatments and creating environmental strategies.

I personally dedicate a lot of my time researching the material aspects of collection’s objects. This can aid curators with finding more about how an item was created and in which condition it has survived. 

We also contribute to exhibition planning, by advising on safety conditions in which objects can be displayed and making sure all items are stable enough to be in the gallery space.

Q – What inspired you to become a Conservator?

When I was about 11, I watched a documentary on the excavation and conservation of the Dead Sea Scrolls from the Qumran caves. I really enjoyed the imagery of the desert and was fascinated by how those manuscripts survived due to extreme dry conditions, in a remote and undisturbed place. I went on to study conservation and specialised in manuscripts – after meeting other people already in the field, I became even more inspired. 

Q – Why did you choose this particular field (of research)?

While completing my master’s degree I was lucky enough to intern at the British Museum and learned papyrus conservation techniques from Bridget Leach. I realised how much I enjoyed the challenging nature of conserving archaeological manuscripts and got to work on other exciting materials, such as early types of paper, palm leaf books and even birch bark scrolls. Most of these are found on archaeological sites along the Silk Road.

A bundle of Tangut documents before conservation, courtesy Vania Assis

Q – What is the most memorable object you’ve researched, or worked with?

Undoubtedly that has to be the Tangut documents from Kharakhoto, unearthed by Aurel Stein in 1914 and part of the British Library’s collection. Their state was so fragmentary back when they were found, that recovery  was deemed impossible, leaving  the documents untouched until the International Dunhuang Project (IDP) launched a conservation project. 

Imagine heavy bundles with a papier-mâché like appearance, where a safe method must be found to unfold and recover material, but the paper is as soft as cotton wool. 

These were some of the most challenging objects I have worked on to this day, but the rewards were also unbeatable. The bundles contained manuscripts, early woodblock printed material, pieces of textiles, plants and seeds. All placed in stupas by the Tanguts until the end of their empire, in 1227 A.D..

Q – Do you recall when was the first time you heard of the phrase “Silk Road”? What was your first impression of it?

I cannot recall the first time in particular, but from an early age it was something that made me wonder about endless land travel and adventurous people, able to make long journeys across deserts and empty land.

The Kharakhoto site, Heishuicheng (黑水城), lies in the Gobi desert, North-East of Dunhuang

Q – What is your most memorable experience of travelling along the Silk Road?

The wonderful sight of the stupas of Kharakhoto against bright blue sky and pale sand dunes. I travelled there and to Dunhuang, with the IDP team back in 2016, when I was working at the British Library. 

We also visited the Yulin grottoes, which were a highlight for me. Their amazing state of preservation,  combined with the peaceful surroundings, was the best way to enjoy the mural paintings from all different periods. I really felt like I was travelling through time.

Q – Which city or region along the Silk Road are you looking forward to visit, for the first time?

There are far too many, but in future I would like to travel more along the regions and cities in central Asia. This is of particular interest to most conservators, as it was the transfer point for paper making technology from China to the Islamic world.

Q – What language(s) spoken along the Silk Road have you studied, or would wish to study?

Currently I am learning Mandarin – this for fun only, and I am not even close to becoming fluent. But I enjoy understanding how my curatorial colleagues date manuscripts based on the use of certain characters. They really have the expertise!

Q – What is the hardest part of your work that people don’t realize?

Conservators must have a multidisciplinary approach to their work and research, so that they can deal with physical and chemical problems on artifacts. Interventions are quite planned and discussed; certain elements of history and context must be protected as an integral part of the object, meaning that ethics also plays a key part in decision making.

Q – What is your dream (or even fantasy) research project?

I have been very lucky and worked with remarkable objects. It will be hard conserve something more exciting than Dunhuang scrolls or manuscripts excavated from the desert. 

In the future, I still hope to work again on these collections, but directly with institutions from silk road countries. 

Q – If it were possible, what historic figure would you like to meet? Why?

Vasco da Gama. He was the first to travel from Europe to India by sea, therefore being at least partially responsible for the Silk Road’s demise.

Having grown up in Portugal, I learned this chapter of history from a western perspective, but having access to other sources later, has really changed my perspective. Hero or villain? There is no way of ever finding out.

Q – What movie best depicts a historic or aesthetic aspect of the Silk Road?

The film screened at the Dunhuang visitor centre was a good depiction of the different aspects from war and trade along the Silk Road. In addition to this, there is an experience room with a screen on a doomed ceiling where you get to see images of Dunhuang paintings close up, feeling very immersive. 

Having said that, I wished more movies set on the Silk Road being made on our times.

'Vasco da Gama' (circa 1460-1524), oil on canvass by antonio Manuel da Fonseca, 1838, Royal Museums Greenwich
‘Vasco da Gama’ (circa 1460-1524), oil on canvass by antonio Manuel da Fonseca, 1838, Royal Museums Greenwich
The Mogao Caves, also known as the Thousand Buddha Grottoes or Caves of the Thousand Buddhas in Dunhuang, northwestern Gansu Province, in China.
A recovered Tangut manuscript, courtesy Vania Assis

Q – What music or soundtrack most embodies the sound of the Silk Road for you?

Any music that inspires dance, meditation, or even both.

Q – What fundamental change(s) in your work do you anticipate in the post-pandemic world?

Conservation was always a challenging field in terms of funding. With less crowds coming to museums, conditions will inevitably get less favourable. 

However, whether visitors are present or not, maintaining collections and ensuring preservation is a continuous process that cannot be neglected. Otherwise, once crowds return, there will be not much left to see. 

I believe that we are going to carry on with digital projects that are important in terms of preservation, with the added responsibility to make these initiatives even more focused on engaging with the public.

Q – What modern day cultural trend (sports, music, art, architecture) has its roots in the Silk Road – that majority do not know?

Stencils. I was amazed when one of the paper fragments from Kharakhoto I conserved had a peculiar coating and many small punctures, forming lines along a drawing. This was a commonly used technique for making patterns on mural paintings. 

These were often discarded and rarely survive; I was thrilled to find an 800 year old stencil paper.

Conversations with Jose Maria Chiquillo Barber (UNESCO)

Name : JOSE MARIA CHIQUILLO BARBER | Country : Spain | Website : UNESCO | Years Active : 5 years – as Chair of the UNESCO’s International Network of Silk Roads Focal Points. Focal Point Spain.

One of 8000 terracotta statues spread across 56 sq. kilometres, in Xi’an (Chang’an), China
One of 8000 terracotta statues spread across 56 sq. kilometres, in Xi’an (Chang’an), China

Q – How do you describe your work to people who don’t know anything about your field?

As a member of the International Network -Focal Point of Spain- and from the responsibility of President of the international network of focal points, to contribute to recover, preserve and disseminate the historical legacy of the Silk Routes, their great contribution to intercultural dialogue and value heritage common cultural forged for more than 2,000 years.

Q – What inspired you to become a curator?

My main professional dedication is linked to the world of Law.  I was interested in the Silk Road for its contribution to Intercultural Dialogue and International Development Cooperation, and its contribution to promoting the values of the Culture of Peace and coexistence among Peoples.

Q – Why did you choose this particular field (of research)?

For being a firm defender of the principles and values that UNESCO, Culture and Education have promoted since its foundation as tools to ensure sustainable human development, respect and tolerance.

Q – What is the most memorable object you’ve researched, or worked with?

I published a paper on Silk Roads as a catalytic instrument to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals contemplated in the United Nations 2030 Agenda, deepening the strengths of Culture and Tourism to promote Dialogue, from respect for diversity and combat social inequalities between peoples. 

Aerial photo of Qujiang New District, Xi’an, Shaanxi, China

Q – Do you recall when was the first time you heard of the phrase “Silk Road”? What was your first impression of it?

My first reference to the Silk Road was in 2012 when I saw a documentary produced by the Regional Television RTVV of Valencia (Spain) entitled “Lost Paths”, in which for 10 episodes an exciting journey through time from East to West is lived  , its historical contribution and the role of Valencia, my city, in that great path of culture, commerce and exchanges that the Silk Routes meant.  It seemed to me a story of great historical power, a fact that contributed decisively to the world today, for the contributions that from the heart of the world contributed to weaving a network of roads where culture, commerce, inventions, technologies, religions, etc. they shared fruitfully on a path of dialogue.

Q – What is your most memorable experience of travelling along the Silk Road?

Without a doubt, my trip in May 2015 to the City of Xi’An, a unique experience in every way.

Bibi-Khanym Mausoleum and Mosque, Samarqand, Uzbekistan, courtesy Adliya

Q – Which city or region along the Silk Road are you looking forward to visit, for the first time?

City?… Samarkand (Uzbekistan)… Crossroad of Cultures.

Q – What language(s) spoken along the Silk Road have you studied, or would wish to study?

I would like to study the Persian language.

Q – What is the hardest part of your work that people don’t realize?

The research work being carried out by UNESCO on the Silk Routes and its Interactive Atlas and the dissemination work carried out by the national focal points through events, conferences and meetings to promote knowledge of the historical value of the Ruta de la Silk.

Q – What is your dream (or even fantasy) research project?

Study, design and promote a European Cultural Itinerary of the Silk Road in the Mediterranean area.

Q – If it were possible, what historic figure would you like to meet? Why?

I wish I had met Admiral de Marina Zheng He and Marco Polo … two illustrious characters born on the Silk Road.

Q – What movie best depicts a historic or aesthetic aspect of the Silk Road?

“The Silk Road” Documentary produced by the BBC in 2016, a series that offers a magnificent vision of what was and meant the world’s first superhighway where people and peoples with new ideas, new cultures and new religions made exchanges that shaped The humanity.

Q – What music or soundtrack most embodies the sound of the Silk Road for you?

The CD “East and the Mediterranean. The Silk Road” is one of the most significant achievements in the history of civilizations.  Along the great Silk Road not only commercial caravans circulated, but also the cultures of the peoples, spiritual values, and religious ideas.  The compilation work recreates a musical journey through the musical and artistic creativity of the Silk Road.

Q – What fundamental change(s) in your work do you anticipate in the post-pandemic world?

We have to rethink our commitment to research and development, investment in science is basic, in health equipment, prevent from epidemiological surveillance plans, promote public-private collaboration and think and act globally.

The response to new challenges and the new scenario must be global from the principles of science and research, cooperation and solidarity.

Q – What modern day cultural trend (sports, music, art, architecture) has its roots in the Silk Road – that majority do not know?

Gastronomy, music and sports values.

Conversations with César Rodríguez Salinas (Conservator)

Name : César Rodríguez Salinas, Textile and Fashion Conservator Kunstmuseum Den Haag | Country : The Netherlands | Years Active : 9 years | Website : Instagram, Twitter and Linkedin 

Q – How do you describe your work to people who don’t know anything about your field?

I was trained as general conservator where I learned how to treat different objects for their good preservation. Since 2011, I am solely working with textiles and fashion objects, and what I do is to keep all of those objects as best as I can for future generations. To be a fashion conservator at Kunstmuseum Den Haag (KMDH) is a huge responsibility, because I am dealing with heritage that belongs to The Netherlands and which has an incredible history value behind.

So, in order to keep all of them in good conditions, a fashion conservator, must gain a widespread knowledge of different materials such as textiles, leather, fur, glass or even modern materials such as plastics to keep them safe for future generations. That´s mean, to know very well their composition, their degradation process and their possible conservation treatments.

Q – What inspired you to become a fashion conservator?

My family has always been attached to fashion objects and textile production (I am already the 5th generation working at the field!). However, the differences between them and myself are that they were more relate to production business and I do more conservative work, where instead of selling products I keep them as best as I can for future generations. And this is for sure, what most trigger me to became a fashion conservator, trying to analyzed throughout the materials preserved at the garments the way how people would have lived many years ago or even the way the materials were produced.

César Rodríguez Salinas at work, courtesy CRS
César Rodríguez Salinas at work, courtesy CRS
César Rodríguez Salinas with an Art Deco Orientalist design by Paul Poiret, courtesy CRS

Q – Why did you choose this particular field (of research)?

Before any conservation treatment is carried out, research must be done on every piece. This is always a multi-task work carried out by the curator and the conservator where the pieces are studied very closely. It is exactly at this point when you most enjoy the work, when you are able to see how the dresses would have been made, how they would have been modified through the years or even how they have been degraded due the materials used for their construction (known as Inherent Vice).

Q – What is the most memorable object you’ve researched, or worked with?

The Kustmuseum den Haag is one of the biggest and oldest costume collections in the Netherlands, that mean that the variety of objects and costumes presented in the museum collection range from early XVII century to late XX century.

From all those pieces that I have worked on as the museum’s Fashion Conservator, I must say that it seems very difficult to me to choose a favorite one. However, I still remember with very special feeling the conservation treatment carried out in 2017 of a Robe a la Française from 1775 for the exhibition Femmes Fatale curated by Madelief Hohé. The dress did take different research steps including on the materials involved, and the study of the patterns used for the elaboration of those dresses, or even the study of similar dresses at other museum collections. All this was possible thanks to collaboration between several cultural institutions such as the Cultural Heritage Agency in the Netherlands (RCE) or the Instituto Valenciano de Conservación y Restauración e Investigación de Bienes Culturales in Spain (IVC+r)-among others.

Q – Do you recall when was the first time you heard of the phrase “Silk Road”? What was your first impression of it?

It was during my second year at the University (around 2007). There we used to have a subject which was related to the history of the different ancient techniques for the confection of the paper. This was a very important subject because for our teacher it was an incredible value to understand how the papers were made before the industrialization. For our surprised, the best papers were always produced in China whereas in Europe the paper producers never would achieve the same production quality. I was amazed to learn that all those discoveries were possible by the silk road, and that spite of not being connected as nowadays, those materials were always reaching other parts of the world far away from their original production place.

Q – What is your most memorable experience of travelling along the Silk Road?

Unfortunately I have not had the chance (yet) on travelling through any Silk Roads, but I hope it would happen soon.

China National Silk Museum for Silk Road Week 2020

 

Q – Which city or region along the Silk Road are you looking forward to visit, for the first time?

In 2014 the UNESCO designated a 5000 km stretch of the silk network (from Central China to the Zhetysu) as World Heritage Site. From all this extension I would really love to visit (at least) a part of it in order to learn more about their history and culture.

Q – What language(s) spoken along the Silk Road have you studied, or would wish to study?

Unfortunately, I only speak European languages (Spanish, Vasc, English, Dutch) but I hope some day would be able to go further and start with Chinese which I find very fascinating!

Q – What is the hardest part of your work that people don’t realize?

To work as a conservator requires to be very active in what is going on, you must need to keep yourself busy learning the new developments, improve your skills and connect with other people doing the same job as you do (which is quite limited!). This (as it can maybe imagine) involve a lot of time and research and not everybody realizes! At the end, this is not a very “common” profession and probably it would be great to have more education along the society to understand a bit more what is necessary to study in order to become a conservator at any public/private museum.

Emperor Huizong of Song, Court Ladies Preparing Newly Woven Silk, early 12th c. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Q – What is your dream (or even fantasy) research project?

In 2016 I did purchase the book Conservation of Paper and Textiles (produced by National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage in Korea) where different conservation treatments, scientific analysis and storage methods where described from different objects belonging to the history of Korea (a place where the silk route even arrive!). Reading the book gave me the impression of how differently the textile/fashion conservators in Europe work comparing with other conservators at other parts of the world. This is very encourage, and for sure, it would be great to make an exchange of knowledge between institutions in Europe with other institutions around the world and learn, in this way, one from another.

Q – If it were possible, what historic figure would you like to meet? Why?

Well it seems very difficult to choose just one person, but I believe that it would have been great to meet Pliny the Elder a Roman Encyclopedist who collected most of the ancient artistic techniques from the most important artist from the time, and it would have been great to make some questions to him about certain production techniques.

Emperor Huizong of Song, Court Ladies Preparing Newly Woven Silk, early 12th c., Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Q – What movie best depicts a historic or aesthetic aspect of the Silk Road?

I couldn’t give just one! I have quite short memory for remembering the movie titles, but recently I just watched a beautiful TV program produced from BBC named: The Silk Road, where Sam Willis traces the story of the route visiting different places from Europe to China.  

Q – What music or soundtrack most embodies the sound of the Silk Road for you?

I couldn’t find the right artist to define this question, but what I could say is that lately Michael Kiwanuka is following me everywhere I must travel for my work. Music has always been surrounding my all life, and I believe that the travelers through the Silk Road must have used music too to their journeys.

Q – What fundamental change(s) in your work do you anticipate in the post-pandemic world?

My work depends very much on working with the objects very closely, but those last weeks due the confinement at home I have developed new skills that would it be applied for sure at my work in the upcoming years. As I mentioned before, research is a fundamental tool of every conservator and to find the right strategies to combine the conservation time with the research time is always challenging. This is for sure, during those weeks, strongly develop!

Q – What modern day cultural trend (sports, music, art, architecture) has its roots in the Silk Road – that majority do not know?

I think they proved (as any other culture) the ability to connect with other parts of the world with their goods, and this was exactly what we were doing with the globalization just before the pandemic was started. The human race will always try to connect with other cultures in order to learn from each other, and that is for sure not new!

Conversations with Fatemeh Ahmadi (Curator)

Name : Fatemeh Ahmadi, Curator Museum of History of Natural Sciences | Country : Iran | Years Active : 15 | Website : National Museum of the History of Iranian Medical Sciences & Farhange Muze (Museum Culture) 

Courtesy National Museum of the History of Iranian Medical Sciences
Fatemeh Ahmadi at the National Museum of Iran, courtesy F. Ahmadi

How do you describe your work to people who don’t know anything about your field?

I am studying the heritage and history of medicine in Iran, and the other countries. I try to communicate the knowledge and history of medicine in story form. Telling stories is always attractive to people (museum visitors) even when they don’t know anything about the objects that they’re viewing.  

What inspired you to become a curator?

I really enjoy studying the history of medicine. I also love sharing research and connecting with other curators in the field, from around the world.

Why did you choose this particular field of research?

My field of study in university was museology because I love museums. I love learning about and teaching histories of people in the past, and for the future since museums belong to the future. Also, museum spaces make me feel calm. 

Skull of a 13 year-old girl excavated it in the Sistan Province, courtesy National Museum of the History of Iranian Medical Sciences

What is the most memorable object you’ve researched, or worked with?

A human skull from 4,800 years ago which is one of the earliest examples of brain surgery discovered. It is wonderful. Archaeologists excavated it in the Sistan Province, in the Southern Iran. See article: “First Skull Surgery in Iran: The Burned City and a 4800-Year-Old Skull” 

Do you recall when was the first time you heard of the phrase “Silk Road”? What was your first impression of it?

When I was a child. I thought it had something to do with Marco-Polo (1254-1324) – the Italian merchant, explorer, and writer who travelled through Asia along the Silk Road between 1271 and 1295.

What is your most memorable experience of travelling along the Silk Road?

I have visited China twice, and Italy once. Venice was fantastic.

Which city or region along the Silk Road are you looking forward to visit, for the first time?

Shanghai. 

What language(s) spoken along the Silk Road have you studied, or would wish to study?

I would like to study Chinese (and Italian).

Courtesy National Museum of the History of Iranian Medical Sciences
One of 8000 terracotta statues spread across 56 sq. kilometres, in Xi’an (Chang’an), China (Weibo)

What is the hardest part of your work that people don’t realize?

It is easy for me to work the people. But sometimes museum visitors ask me questions that come from their imagination. By that I mean, they dream about some objects in the museum (and, ask hypothetical questions), and I don’t have clear answers to their inquiries. I do, however, try to be patient and explain the historic and scientific backgrounds of each object or set of objects to help answer their questions.

 What is your dream (or even fantasy) research project?

I would like to travel the Silk Road by car, or by bus. It is my dream to travel from Xi’an to Rome by car. I would like to make some movies since they can help people understand stories we tell in museums. 

If it were possible, what historic figure would you like to meet? Why?

One of the Terracotta Warriors in Emperor Qinshihuang’s Mausoleum Site Museum, in Xi’an. Also, Cyrus The Great, in Persepolis. 

Animated Travels: Marco Polo’s Adventures (アニメーション紀行 マルコ・ポーロの冒険), Japanese TV series, Directed by 藤田克彦/松村浩志/村上憲一/中村哲志/酒井和行, 1979-1980

What movie best depicts a historic or aesthetic aspect of the Silk Road?

The Japanese Adventures of Marco Polo (TV Series) made in 1979.  

Fatemeh Ahmadi with Suay Aksoy, President of ICOM International Council of Museums, courtesy F. Ahmadi

What music or soundtrack most embodies the sound of the Silk Road for you? 

I don’t know exactly. I am not very familiar with music in this field. Come to think of it, I do like Iranian-Armenian singer-songwriter Andy’s Chi Begam whose video shows him traveling along parts of the Silk Road.

What fundamental change(s) in your work do you anticipate in the post-pandemic world?

Traveling has been difficult. I don’t like to travel by visual spaces. I would like to touch silk road and cultures and museums by my fingers and my eyes.

What modern day cultural trend (sports, music, art, architecture) has its roots in the Silk Road – that majority do not know?

Actually all of them. But architecture is particularly important. Examples of architectural inventions and trends that were initiated on the Silk Road are prevalent throughout the world.

GSHA Conversations with Frank J Cunningham

Muhammad Ali dodges a punch thrown by Joe Frazier during their heavyweight title fight at Madison Square Garden in 1971. Photograph: Bettmann/Corbis

How do you describe your work to people who don’t know anything about your field?

I am the VP of global development for IMWD (INTL Museum Workers Day) and GSHA (Global Sports Heritage Association) in which capacity I reach out to and connect with heritage and museum professionals around the world to engage with our various projects, year-round.

Over the past five years, we have expanded our reach for International Museum Workers Day (IMWD) to some 170 countries and territories around the world. So, you could say, that continues to be a lot of reaching out …

This year, we have founded Global Sports Heritage Association, and the upcoming, first annual Global Sports Heritage Day which will be celebrated on 22nd Feb, 2021 #GSHD2O21.

Stay tuned for lots of info on these two projects.

How did you start in the heritage field?

My father was a teacher and he instilled in his twelve children a great interest in our Irish culture and language, and gave us all the opportunity to further our education in what interested us.

Having been born at the bottom of a hill on which stands a megalithic tomb – The Dolmen of the Four Maols (2000 b.c.) – also helped stir my interest in heritage.

None of this would have mattered if my mother besides rearing her twelve children hadn’t made that sure we kept up with our studies.

Also, though I am not an academically trained curator, years ago I owned an antique store in the United States. Picking and shipping European antiques that I deemed of interest for the American collectors was quite a daunting experience.

These days, in addition to my work with IMWD and GSHA, I am more interested in writing poems which is a form of intangible heritage.

What is the most memorable museum experience you’ve had?

I photographed the galleries at the National Gallery of Jamaica, in 2004. I felt I captured a very real sense of Jamaica’s past history and present reality.

What is the most stimulating museum or heritage experience you’ve had?

Spending a few days at the Deutsches Technikmuseum Berlin, and I still needed another week.

What is your favorite sport(s) – to participate in.

It was Outrigger Canoe racing. I was fortunate to be on the winning team for the 4-man New York Outrigger Liberty Challenge at Pier 84 by the Intrepid Air and Space Museum in 2003. There were over 50 teams from all over the world, for example Tahiti, Germany, Hawaii, England, etc

What is your favorite sport(s) – to watch?

American Football. I am a hopeful New York Jets fan.

What is the hardest thing about your work – that people don’t get?

Considering that our audiences are very international, I always find it challenging to manage time differences in dealing with people from around the world.

What is your dream job?

I have it.

Reaching out to connect with people all over the world for a good cause.

Who is your sport hero? Have you met them?

Muhammad Ali.

I never met him but, by chance, I did meet Joe Frazier in a hotel in Ireland in 1971 just after he defeated Ali in their first fight. He was touring with his band ‘Joe Frazer and the Knockouts’.

I was thirteen and he and his band took up half the dining room for lunch. My father asked him could I say hello and I got his autograph. For a while I went around saying “Shake the hand that shook the hand of Joe Frazier”!

What is your favorite sports-related movie, or work of art?

The Athlete, also known as the American Athlete that Auguste Rodin, the French sculptor, did from 1901-1904. It took so long because he was a gymnast who participated in the Paris Olympics 1904

SHARE: Inspirational Quote, OR Workout Playlist.

“We don’t stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing,” George Bernard Shaw Irish Nobel Prize winner (1856-1950).

What advice do you give to young emerging professionals in your field?

Do your homework and stay focused. Persevere.

ADDITIONAL – I grew up playing Gaelic football and Hurling. The boarding school I first attended honoured the ban on playing English soccer and rugby. Today my nephews and nieces play all sports.

About GSHA Conversations with …

“GSHA Conversations with” invites players in the fields of heritage, sports, and sports heritage to discuss their career achievements, challenges and future plans.

GSHA (GLOBAL SPORTS HERITAGE ASSOCIATION) is founded to promote sporting heritage and history in various fields, across generations, and around the globe.

GSHA’s VISION is to serve as the unifying global & cross-generational voice of sports heritage.

GSHA is committed to help promote sports heritage at all levels, from grassroots engagement to academic research.

GSHA’s MISSION is grounded in the belief that sports are of critical necessity to our emotional, spiritual, physical, communal, and societal well-being.

22nd INTL Festival Intermuseum 2020

The 22nd International Festival Intermuseum 2020 has moved online and will take place on May 27-29, 2020. The theme of this year’s event is 75th anniversary of the victory in the World War II.

This year, the festival which is annually attended by some 3,000 museum and heritage professionals, includes an interactive museum exhibition, a business program in the format of webinars and a professional museum competition.

Russian Committee of the International Council of Museums (ICOM Russia) is co-curating “Education, customer focus, inclusion”, and has also assisted in the preparation of “Information Technologies” and “Museum Security”. A detailed program of these areas, as well as other events, you can find here.

There are 2 possible ways to view and participate in events:

You can become a participant in live viewing. To do this, the next column contains links to YouTube broadcasts of each section. Broadcasting events on YouTube has no restrictions on the number of participants.

You can participate in the event and ask a question in the chat. To do this, you need to register for the event by clicking the “Registration” button opposite the webinar you are interested in and create a personal account on the ZOOM platform. The number of places to participate in each event is limited to 500 visitors, participants are asked to register for the event in advance.

Examples of presentations include “Digital competencies of museum employees”- a study conducted by the ICOM of Russia together with the Association of Electronic Communications (RAEC), the National Research University Higher School of Economics (HSE) and Microsoft in Russia with information support for the project PRO.CULTURE.RF. The meeting “Research on digital competencies of museum employees: presentation of the results together with the RIF.ONLINE conference” will be held on May 28 from 10:00 to 11:55.

Checkout the official website for INTERMUSEUM 2020 for more info in English (& Russian).

International Festival Intermuseum 2020, ICOM Russia- (5)
International Festival Intermuseum 2020, ICOM Russia- (5)
International Festival Intermuseum 2020, ICOM Russia- (4)

Happy Africa Day 2020

 
 
We wish all our colleagues, friends and family in and from Africa a very happy AFRICA DAY 2020.

AFRICAN LIBERATION DAY, celebrated on May 25 commemorates the establishment, in 1963, of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU).

Today, the AFRICAN UNION (AU) is a continental body consisting of the 55 member states that make up the countries of the African Continent. It was officially launched in 2002 as a successor to the Organisation of African Unity (OAU, 1963-1999).

“African world heritage: a remarkable diversity” L. Eloundou & I. Odiaua, UNESCO, 2012

“On this day 57 years ago, the Organisation of African Unity was born. From the beginning it was dedicated to the idea that only through unity could Africa safeguard its independence and unlock its potential. Today we pay tribute to our forebears the founders of the OAU whose dream of greater African integration and unity has endured.” 

Chairperson of the African Union President Cyril Ramaphosa on the Occasion of Africa Day

The main objectives of the Organisation of African Union OAU were to rid the continent of the remaining vestiges of colonisation and apartheid; to promote unity and solidarity amongst African States; to coordinate and intensify cooperation for development; to safeguard the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Member States and to promote international cooperation. The OAU Charter spelled out the purpose of the Organisation namely:

  • To promote the unity and solidarity of the African States;
  • To coordinate and intensify their cooperation and efforts to achieve a better life for the peoples of Africa;
  • To defend their sovereignty, their territorial integrity and independence;
  • To eradicate all forms of colonialism from Africa; and
  • To promote international cooperation, having due regard to the Charter of the United Nations and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

 

On this AFRICA DAY, as with every day, we recommend the highly engaging and informative text “African world heritage: a remarkable diversity (Patrimoine mondial africain: une diversité remarquable)” by Eloundou, Lazare  and Odiaua, Ishanlosen. The illustrated 204-page book may be viewed courtesy UNESCO’s digital library, or acquired via select bookshops.

The publication is supported by World Heritage Convention which provides an international platform for safeguarding cultural and natural heritage, and a showcase for the diversity of African heritage.

According to African World Heritage Fund (AWHF), while 51 African countries have signed the World Heritage Convention, 12 of them have no sites on the World Heritage List. The challenge for Africa is to increase the resources available to inscribe more sites.  A total of 9 African countries have sites which appear on the List of World Heritage in Danger.

The AWHF is a strategy for dealing with the challenges faced by many African countries regarding the implementation of the 1972 Convention. The AWHF has been established to foster a better understanding of African heritage cultural significances and values. To fulfill this mandate resources are mobilized to contribute towards the promotion and safeguarding of African World Heritage Sites and the education of people on the importance of African natural and cultural heritage.

Conversations with Homa Taj (MUSEUMVIEWS)

Name : Homa Taj | Country : USA| Website : MUSEUMVIEWS | Years Active : 23 years

Q- How do you describe your work to people who don’t know anything about your field?

It is museology. Not musicology. Many make that mistake.

I study the histories and mechanisms of institutions of culture, with interest in the so-called emerging nations… which, ironically, are among the oldest civilizations in the world.

Q – What inspired you to become a curator (or dealer)?

I inherit my love for arts and culture from my late mother, and languages and travel from my father.

Q – Why did you choose this particular field (of research)?

I started working in theatre and film, later in art history. But my passion for traveling is what inspired me to focus on museums.

Despite social media trends (all kinds of museum hashtags, and IG accounts, etc), you must travel to visit the museums that you are studying or researching. Unlike art history which can be done via texts, images, etc.

Q – What is the most memorable object you’ve researched, or worked with?

Too many to recall. However, seeing pages from the Shah Tahmāsp Shahnameh at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Tehran, many years ago.

The Persian epic poem recounts the history of pre-Islamic Persia or Iranshahr (Greater Iran). The book contains 62 stories, recounted in 990 chapters with 50,000 rhyming couplets. This particular version is absolutely sublime….

Abu’l Qasim Ferdowsi (or Firdausi) (935–1020), The Shahnama of Shah Tahmasp (r. 1524–76), Persia, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA
Abu’l Qasim Ferdowsi (or Firdausi) (935–1020), The Shahnama of Shah Tahmasp (r. 1524–76), Persia, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA

Q – Do you recall when was the first time you heard of the phrase “Silk Road”? What was your first impression of it?

I must have been 4-5 years old. My parents told my brother and I about the ‘Rah-e Abrisham (Silk Road)’ as they took us on a day visit to the tomb of (another) Persian poet, Omar Khayyam in Neyshabur, Iran which was one of the main stops on the ancient Silk Road. Omar Khayyam was of course a Persian mathematician, astronomer, philosopher, and poet (10-48-1131). We’d also take an hour’s drive from Tous, the mausoleum of the great Persian epic poet Abu’l Qasim Ferdowsi 935-1020 (image above) was born.

In other words, technically speaking, I was born on the Silk Road (Mashhad, Khorasan). 

Q – What is your most memorable experience of travelling along the Silk Road?

The above journey, I suppose… since I recall fantasizing about caravanserai and other “Silk Road” fantasies for many years …

Part of the Figure of a Deity and a Woman Donator Wearing a Chinese Dress (fragment), Tangut State of Xi -Xia, Khara-Khoto, 14th c, State Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg, Russia
Part of the Figure of a Deity and a Woman Donator Wearing a Chinese Dress (fragment), Tangut State of Xi -Xia, Khara-Khoto, 14th c, State Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg, Russia

Q – Which city or region along the Silk Road are you looking forward to visit, for the first time?

The whole of China, Kazakhstan, … Oh, far too many to list!

Q – What language(s) spoken along the Silk Road have you studied, or would wish to study?

I am a native Persian speaker which was at one point the lingua franca of the Silk Road. I have studied Arabic but in desperate need of practice. And, have an ear for Turkish – because my father is Azeri. And, I have started to learn Mandarin. It’ll be a long & pretty exciting road …

Q – What is the hardest part of your work that people don’t realize?

We must slow down. It’s really difficult to communicate the needs for scholarship which is an extremely slow process, and for understanding the fundamentals of art and its institutions in the contemporary museum world… since everything has become far too commercial (& clickbait-y).

Q – What is your dream (or even fantasy) research project?

To spend a few years to learn Chinese so that I can read great works of literature without too much pain.

Q – If it were possible, what historic figure would you like to meet? Why?

Catherine The Great of Russia. A very learned woman who doggedly prevailed over numerous obstacles.

Q – What movie best depicts a historic or aesthetic aspect of the Silk Road?

Let’s see, in the contemporary sense, I’d say Abbas Kiarostami’s Taste of Cherry (1997).

Also, anything by by the great Sergei Parajanov including The Color of Pomegranates, Shadow of Forgotten Ancestors, & Ashib Kerib.

Ah, there are too many others …

Q – What music or soundtrack most embodies the sound of the Silk Road for you?

Again, too many to name. One example is the sound of the santur which was invented in Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq), and Iran. In China, yangqin (扬琴) has a similar sound and is said to be derived from the Persian santur.

Q – What fundamental change(s) in your work do you anticipate in the post-pandemic world?

Far less traveling than before – which had become too much in recent years, especially with the too many contemporary art fairs that consumed the budget of a majority of art organizations and museums.

Q – What modern day cultural trend or activities, especially in your field (sports, music, art, architecture) has its roots in the Silk Road – that many do not know?

FOOTBALL, or soccer as it is called in the United States. And, of course, Polo. Among others.

 

#SportsHeritage IMWD2020

#SportsHeritage IMWD2020

Early in May, International Museum Workers Day announced ‘Sports Heritage’ as the theme for the 6th IMWD2020 to be marked on the last Thursday in October, 10.22.2020 #SportsIMWD.

The founding of Global Sports Heritage Association (GSHA – /’ɡeeʃə/) has reminds us that sports are of critical importance to our emotional, spiritual, physical, communal, and societal well-being.

Along with IMWD and GSHA, we acknowledge that physical education, physical activity and sport form part of humanity’s non-tangible heritage which include dance, recreational, organized, competitive, casual, traditional and indigenous sports and games.

This IMWD, we honor UNESCO’s International Charter of Physical Education, Physical Activity and Sport which is a rights-based reference that orients and supports policy- and decision-making in all aspects of sport.