fishing together'... building partnerships with museums in afghanistan

CMA Conference 2013

Whitehorse, Yukon, 27 May – 1 June 2013

“Fishing Together” – Building Partnershipswith Museums in Afghanistan

Alessandro Califano

Afghanistan, a Geographic Hub 1/3

A hub between East and West, and North and South, Afghanistan shows human settlements going as far back as 100,000 years ago, with earliest Palaeolithic tools found near Ghazni, in Dasht-e Nawar.

The first images of Afghan people can be found in a relief along the stairs leading up to the great audience hall of the palace of king Darius I, in Persepolis.

Afghanistan, a Geographic Hub 2/3

ARACHOSIANS (Persepolis, Audience Hall – 6th century BCE)

Afghanistan, a Geographic Hub 3/3

Different merchandises, religions, and cultures travelled and linked together the Mediterranean, the Ural-Altaic area, the Indian Subcontinent, China, the Iranian plateau, and the Arabic peninsula.

Zoroastrianism (Balkh), Buddhism (Bactria, Bamiyan, Ghazni), Hinduism, Shamanism and Polytheism (Kafiristan, now Nuristan), and Islam (from the 7th century onwards) have all built a rich stratigraphy of many cultural layers.

Cultural Stratigraphy 1/7

Noh Gonbad mosque, Balkh (9th century)

Cultural Stratigraphy 2/7

Balkh citadel (26th century BCE to 18th century)

Cultural Stratigraphy 3/7

Blue Mosque, Mazar-e Sharif (15th century), with Manuscripts Museum

Cultural Stratigraphy 4/7

Buddhist monks' cells, Samangan (4th-5th century)

Cultural Stratigraphy 5/7

Durga head (4th century), Tepe Sardar (Ghazni),now at the National Museum of Afghanistan, Kabul

Cultural Stratigraphy 6/7

Man on horse (end 18th century), Kati people, Nuristan, now at the National Museum of Afghanistan, Kabul

Cultural Stratigraphy 7/7

“Tjumen' 82” graffiti (in Russian), scratched on dome of king's Summer Palace in Tashqurgan, Afghanistan

Planning “Differently”

Cooperating in radically different cultural heritage contexts requires much more than developing new strategies for different storytelling needs.

It requires from us to deeply rethink what we take for granted in planning, including our tools and our very priorities.

Alternative Fire Fighting Measures(Murad Khane, Kabul)

Ensuring an effective security systems against fire risks where reliable water / power sources may not – or not always – be readily available.

Energy Saving Measures

With the substitution of neon and incandescence lights with LEDs we achieved over 90% of energy saving, while both heat and lux affecting the artefacts were very effectively kept under control (National Museum of Afghanistan, 2010).

Different Planning Options 1/2

Motorway police emergency helpline in Pakistan

Proprietary software solutions proposed:• $ 60K US / year• $ 400K US up front + annual SW renewal

cost + additional costs if number of lines needs to be increased

Open Source solution, developed by local engineers from scratch:

• 3 million rupees ($ 33K US) one time cost

Different Planning Options 2/2

National Museum of Afghanistan

$ 10 M US provided by foreign donors (2012)

Expected achievements:• New wall and guard towers (doesn't look

much like an “inclusive museum” project...)• Museum collections database from scratch

(over 70% of it already existing...)

What could have been done, instead?• New adequate storage areas• New facilities for visitors, employees• Training, completion of existing database, ...

“Give a man a fish to feed him for a day” “Teach a man to fish and feed him for a

lifetime” Fish together...

…and both of you will havea completely new experience,

enriching both of you

Flexibility as the Paramount Factor for Planning in Critical Contexts

For further reading...

A. Califano, Afghanistan's Cultural Heritage – Continuity in Change (2008) *

A. Califano, Archaeology – Hidden Stupa, Buddhist Monastery in Samangan, Afghanistan (2010) *

A. Califano, 3000 Years of History. An Exhibition at the National Museum of Afghanistan. In: MUSE. vol. XXIX/1, January-February 2011, pp.34-41

A. Califano, Museums in Afghanistan – A Roadmap into the Future (in: The Silk Road, vol.9/2011, pp.88-103)

* see: www.slideshare.net/califano

Thank you! Merci ! ...Tashakor!

“A nation stays alive when its culture stays alive”

National Museum of Afghanistan, Kabul