Today's Edition
ABU DHABI (ALETIHAD)
NYU Abu Dhabi’s (NYUAD) al Mawrid Arab Center for the Study of Art will hold a symposium called 'The Generative Archive: Research, Methods, and Practices.'
The event will be held at the NYUAD Campus Center C2 East Forum on April 19 and 20.
The conference, which is open to the public, explores the role of archives as vibrant hubs for discovery beyond their traditional role in serving scholars, and features a dynamic lineup of experts.
This includes a keynote address by historian and archivist Dr. Emad AbouGhazi, former Secretary General of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Culture, and former Minister of Culture in Egypt.
The event aims to look into the combination of practical and conceptual challenges involved in archival work – and particularly archival work around Arab art histories in a global context – in the 21st Century.
Participants will explore the use of archives outside the confines of academia, asking how they can be used for education, communal memory, and research. And of increasing relevance, what do digital environments enable, and what do they foreclose?
Topics that panels will discuss include Approaches to Archival Architecture and Ownership, Reviving the Past into an Imagined Future, and Institutional Archival Practices: Thinking about Use, Access, and Survival.
Notably, participants include Head of Global History of Art research, Institut National d’Histoire de l’Art (INHA), Paris Zahia Rahmani; Curator of Arabic Collections, The British Library Daniel Lowe; and Senior Program Officer, Getty Foundation Miguel de Baca.
The range of insights they present will highlight how archive analysis can spark new interests and inspire different ways of engaging with history.
Director of al Mawrid Arab Center for the Study of Art at NYUAD, and a co-convenor of the event, Salwa Mikdadi, commented: “The symposium aims to be a catalyst for a paradigm shift, changing archives from passive repositories to lively, dynamic tools that enable everyone to interact with history and contribute to future discourse. This idea reinforces al Mawrid’s ambition to become a key resource for scholars, independent researchers, and educational and art organizations.”
The research centre and archive at NYUAD are dedicated to the interdisciplinary study of the visual arts of the Arab world.
Through a range of activities that include fellowships, research projects, conferences, and colloquia, as well as the construction of a unique digital archive, al Mawrid aims to be a major resource for scholars, independent researchers, and for educational and art institutions.
The Centre is part of the NYUAD Research Institute and works in collaboration with the Arts and Humanities Division.
