[MSN] Brooks Museum Plans Candlelight Vigil Over Loss Of Arabic Antiquities

[MSN]

Brooks Museum Plans Candlelight Vigil Over Loss Of Arabic Antiquities

CORTLAND, NY (04/04/2008; 1520)(readMedia)-- The Brooks Museum, an
archeological museum at SUNY Cortland, will mark the tragic destruction of
Iraq's and Afghanistan's museums, archaeological sites and cultural
monuments on Thursday, April 10, at SUNY Cortland.

A "virtual" candle-light vigil will follow short film screenings about the
looting of Iraq and Afghanistan's cultural heritage. The event will take
place from 1:30-4 p.m. in the museum, located in Cornish Hall, Room D-312.
Participants also will informally discuss the impact of the looted museums
on the world's cultural heritage.

The event, which is free and open to the public, is organized and hosted by
Joanna Alario, a museum intern and senior anthropology major from Ithaca,
N.Y.

The short videos include "Raiders of the Lost Ark - Iraq" and "No End in
Sight," as well as various news reports. Commemorative items and
informational brochures from Saving Antiquities for Everyone (SAFE) will be
available.

According to Sharon Steadman, associate professor of anthropology and the
museum curator, museums and archaeological sites throughout the Middle East
have been repeatedly looted and vandalized during the last two decades,
resulting in a loss of irreplaceable cultural and historical information.
April 10 marks the fifth anniversary of the destruction and theft of tens of
thousands of artifacts in the Iraq Museum. Afghanistan's Kabul Museum also
experienced the theft of its antiquities.

For more information, contact Steadman at (607) 753-2308.

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http://www.museum-security.org
http://www.museumbeveiliging.com
http://www.handboekveiligheidszorgmusea.nl
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