Approaches to Preservation Across Kurdistan

The panel, Approaches to Preservation Across Kurdistan, moderated by Behrooz Chamanara, brought academics and artists into conversation around different approaches to preservation and to working with various media: creative arts, music, photography, the visual arts, as well as archival mediums.

With panelists Isabel Kaser, Houzan Mahmoud, Jon Bullock, Gashtyar Kawa, Ed Kashi, and Osman Ahmed, the discussion addresses formal archival infrastructures, state-supported preservation, cultural and community-based archival practices, as well as individual initiatives.

The panelists draw on their long experience navigating and generating archives as researchers and artists. They reflect on how these preservation efforts - both working within existing archives and creating their own collections - generate new forms of creative work, as well as new ethical questions when confronting certain collections, particularly around access and security.