Museum of Texas Tech to Host Director of National Museum of Afghanistan

News Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
DATE: Sept. 9, 2016
CONTACT: Amanda Castro-Crist, amanda.castro-crist@ttu.edu
(806) 742-2136

Museum of Texas Tech to Host Director of National Museum of Afghanistan
Fahim Rahimi will deliver a lecture about the museum’s efforts and challenges in protecting Afghanistan’s heritage.

The Museum of Texas Tech University will host a lecture by Fahim Rahimi, director of the National Museum of Afghanistan, at 6 p.m. Wednesday (Sept. 14) in the Helen DeVitt Jones Auditorium. Rahimi, who specializes in cultural heritage management and preservation, will deliver the lecture, “Fighting for the Nation’s Cultural Heritage: Efforts and Challenges of the National Museum of Afghanistan.”

“This is a rare and valuable public lecture,” said Hyojung Cho, associate professor of heritage management at the Museum of Texas Tech. “It hopefully will serve as a foundation to build a collaborative relationship between the two museums for their professional capacity building and exhibition development and an opportunity for Texas Tech to contribute to the collective efforts for safeguarding world heritage.”

Organized theft and destruction of cultural heritage is more severe than ever, Cho said. Heritage is closely linked with the past, present and future of a community or nation, and safeguarding that heritage promotes a country’s identity, supports diversity and fights crimes and terrorism, she added.

“Museums protect and promote heritage, the treasure of mankind,” Cho said. “The National Museum of Afghanistan has conserved important cultural property of Central Asia, fought illicit trafficking of cultural property and regained valuable artifacts by international collaborations.”

Cho said the lecture will focus on the powerful case of protecting world heritage and the remaining challenges, which demand awareness and actions by more than just museums and governments.

“The lecture is not just for museum professionals or academic scholars,” she said. “I hope to raise awareness of these issues in the Lubbock community. After all, why do we read world news? It’s all our issues, closer than we think.”

Before being appointed as director in January, Rahimi served as curator and then chief curator and was responsible for one of the most significant collections of ancient and Islamic art in Central Asia. He organized a number of important exhibitions, including, “Mes Aynak: New Discoveries along the Silk Road,” “Buddhist Heritage of Afghanistan” and “1000 Cities of Bactria.” In addition, he played a major role in organizing the international traveling exhibition “Hidden Treasures of Afghanistan.”

Rahimi holds a bachelor’s degree in archaeology and anthropology from Kabul University and studied heritage preservation and curatorial studies at Vienna University and at the International Center for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property in Rome. He was a Fulbright Scholar, and is pursuing a master’s degree in anthropology and heritage preservation at the University of Pennsylvania.

The lecture is free and open to the public, and a reception with light food and drink will follow. Welcome remarks will be given by Texas Tech President Dr. Lawrence Schovanec and Gary Morgan, executive director of the Museum of Texas Tech. The lecture is partially funded by the International Cultural Center.

For more information about the National Museum of Afghanistan, visit its website.

For more information about the Museum of Texas Tech University, visit the website.

CONTACT: Hyojung Cho, associate professor, Museum of Texas Tech University, (806) 834-0221 or hyojung.cho@ttu.edu