CEO DATELINE - Museum directors guarantee safe haven for objects at risk
CEO DATELINE - Museum directors guarantee safe haven for objects at risk
- October 21, 2015 |
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Walt Williams
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With the Islamic State destroying art and archaeological treasures throughout territory it controls, an association representing art museum directors is promising that its members will provide refuge for any artifacts at risk of destruction.
Earlier this month, the Association of Art Museum Directors released new protocols guaranteeing that members would take in any art or artifacts at risk because of violent conflict, terrorism or natural disasters. The objects will be held at member museums until they can be safely returned.
"The scale of human suffering and loss of life that is taking place in Syria and other afflicted areas is devastating, and is compounded by the loss of unique works that are the record of different cultures and our shared humanity," said Johnnetta Cole, board president of AAMD. "The level of destruction and the intentional damage is deplorable and an attempt to eradicate cultural identity in tandem with the murder and repression of individuals."
Since taking control of parts of Syria and Iraq, ISIS has destroyed or sold off many archaeological artifacts it finds offensive to Islam. The organization most recently destroyed the 2,000-year-old Temple of Bel in Palmyra, a major archaeological site in Syria.
In a Wall Street Journal op-ed, Maxwell Anderson, the former chairman of AAMD's task force on archeological materials and ancient art, said the protocols were a major step for American museums because they meant that, for the first time, they were taking an active role in protecting cultural heritage from the threat of ISIS.
"The protocols are admittedly only a downstream barrier to the flood of artifacts being shipped out of Syria and Iraq every day. But they are a start," he said. http://on.wsj.com/1kqFfMq
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