In the Western World, the Arab world gets a bad press. The whole region seems to be in permanent turmoil and probably because of its biggest asset; oil. The world has fought over it in the Middle East since it was ‘first’ discovered in Persia (now Iran) in 1908.
More than 4,000 years ago there were old pits used in Ardericca, near Babylon (modern-day Iraq), so brown gold is nothing new to the Arabs. This liquid, however, does not define the Arab world, it has given the rest of the world much, much more.
This fact seems to be overlooked by many who now see it as the hub for extreme terrorism and as a benighted land that is to be feared. However, as is usually the way, technology is beginning to shine a light on Arabic culture and how this, not war and oil, defines Arabs.
This light, however, is not yet a beacon because of the inertia in bringing Arabic culture online. At the recent (and excellent) STEP conference in Dubai last month, the brilliant presenting skills of Sultan Al Qassemi, who certainly doesn't hide his light behind a bushel, showed how he and his compatriots are trying to accelerate this process.
Al Qassemi is an MIT Media Labs Director’s Fellow and also the founder of the Barjeel Art Foundation, an independent initiative that assists intellectual development of art in the Arab region. During his presentation at STEP, he cited the increasing use of social media to spread the word about Arabic art, but also how Arab countries needed to bring their artists online as quickly as possible.
He cited an experience in 2014 that made him realise how important it was to do so when he received an email from the then curator of London’s Whitechapel Gallery, Omar Kholeif who wanted to organize an exhibition there from the Barjeel Art Foundation collection of Arab art.
When asked by Kholief why he had specifically he had chosen that collection from all the other available in the Arab world, he replied that that ‘it was the only one I could see and study online’.
For collections in the Western World, online access has long been available for those wanting to learn more about a country’s heritage and even accessed Al Qassemi’s beloved social media to do so.
The US Library of Congress archives 500 million tweets sent by its citizens every day and since 2014 the British Library in London has saved all of the UK’s websites, online newsletters, blogs and ebooks to preserve its digital legacy.
The British Library has also done the same for its Arabic collections. Two years ago it announced a $12.7 million ten-year partnership with the Qatar National Library and Qatar Foundation to completely digitize all Persian Gulf maps, photographs, manuscripts, letters, audio and video files in its collection.
Rather like Al Qassemi’s quest, this bilingual resource allows open access to scientific researchers to see previously analogue content online. Qatar is doing the same at home as well.
The Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art in Qatar has a collection of more than 9,000 pieces and was a pioneer in the Arab World to partner with the
“Many collectors in the Arab world shy away from placing their art collection online. The reasons for this vary and include an aversion to a public display of wealth, fear of potential taxation and a lack of awareness of the importance of such a move.”
“Art institutions and collectors in the Arab world need to make a giant leap into the present day and invest in creating online portals for the region’s art. We can all play a part in countering the negative narrative of extremists in the region by virtually displaying our arts and culture. The best way to preserve one’s culture is to share it with the rest of the world,” he says.
Another excellent example of maintaining Arabic culture is the current project to rescue the vandalised city of Palmyra in Syria. Using robots and 3D technology, cultural organizations have created the three-metre high 2,000-year-old Arch of Triumph that was destroyed by Daesh last year. Launched in London earlier this month, it will tour the world's major cities as an act of global solidarity with Syria's artistic heritage.
As the world's oil begins to run out, the Arab World is slowly beginning to realize that its culture and heritage need to be saved digitally for the world to see and where its post-oil future may possibly lie. The ongoing work of Sultan Al Qassemi and his colleagues is certainly going to be crucial in doing so.
