Culture Cannot Wait: Strategies for Protecting Heritage in Times of Conflict

Why care about the role of cultural heritage in the face of war? How is it possible to protect cultural identity at risk during crisis? Join us as we hear from preservation activists working in the field of cultural heritage, from the grassroots to the institutional level.

This public lecture is a component of a three day invitational workshop that will be held at Brandeis from November 7 - 9. Experts from the fields of public policy, cultural preservation, and humanitarian aid will convene at the Rose Art Museum to discuss the shared mission of conflict transformation through the lens of art and culture.

Formed around a series of questions related to the value of preserving cultural heritage, this workshop will gather information and propose ideas with the goal of informing a proposal that may result in a working group that works alongside national and international mechanisms for humanitarian aid, including OCHA's Emergency Cluster System.

This public program is an opportunity for participating experts to share their experience in the field. Tsoleen Sarian & Ruth Thomasian, Founder, from Project SAVE: Armenian Photo Archive and Azra Aksamija, Associate Professor and Director of MIT's Future Heritage Lab will be share their mission to restore the past in order to build a new future.

Seating is limited. Please RSVP.

About Project Save

Founded in 1975, Project SAVE Armenian Photograph Archives promotes Armenian culture and history by making its photographs, now more than 45,000 images, and their stories available for public use. We collect, document, and preserve photographs of all subjects and time periods relating to Armenian people. Documenting the work of Armenian photographers is of special interest.

About The Future Heritage Lab

Azra Aksamija, Associate Professor & Director of the MIT Future Heritage Lab

Humanity is witnessing a crisis of tragic proportion as war, displacement, and increasing poverty sequester the rise of cultural divisions, spread nationalism, and destroy cultural heritage within conflict zones. FHL builds future heritage by creating new cultural forms and civic scale projects that translate traditional crafts into new technologies, foster knowledge transfer across borders.