PRESERVING CULTURAL HERITAGE ON THE FRONT LINE

Curators

ISHKAR

Whether it is deliberate attacks or collateral damage, both antiquities and contemporary art in the Middle East are facing unprecedented threats. In this panel, we will discuss how we can protect what remains, the prevention of future destruction of cultural heritage and the consequences if we do not act now.

Speaker: Dr. Tamara Chalabi

Dr. Tamara Chalabi is a curator, historian and writer who specializes in contemporary Middle Eastern art and culture. She is author of several publications including Late for Tea at the Deer Palace (2010) which tells the story of modern Iraq through the generations of Chalabi's family. In 2012, Chalabi co-founded the Ruya Foundation, a non-governmental organization that is the only Iraqi foundation focused on enriching contemporary culture, collaborating with both Iraqi and international artists like Ai Weiwei and Francis Alÿs. Chalabi steers the Foundation's main program and co-curated the Iraq Pavilion at last year's 57th Venice Biennial.

Speaker: Dr. John Curtis

Dr. John Curtis specializes in the archeology and history of Iran and Iraq from 1000-330 BC, with more than twenty books to his name. He has traveled and excavated extensively in both countries, and was first wester archaeologist to visit the Iraq Museum after it was looted in 2003. He is formally Keeper of the Middle East Department at the British Museum 1989-2013, and today he is the CEO of the Iran Heritage Foundation. He was elected a Fellow of the British Academy in 2003 and was awarded an OBE in 2006.

Moderator: Diddi Malek

Diddi Malek trained with Sotheby's after studying Arabic and Persian at Oxford University. She worked for the famous Iraqi architect, Dr. Mohamed Makiya, as his historical researcher and assistant. Diddi established the Islamic Department, and was a director of the Valuations Department, at Bonhams auction house. In 1999, she founded an independent art advisory business in which she is active today in all aspects of fine art, with a focus on Middle Eastern Collections