Category Archives: All AKDC News

Roads, Routes and Networks: Projects for the Visualization of Art Historical Information

Digital Humanities Colloquium Harvard University, RCC Conference Room, 26 Trowbridge St., Cambridge MA Space and movement have always been fundamental for art history, through concepts such as -among others- center and periphery, roads for global exchange, or the experience of travel. Geographical Information Systems are transforming the traditional ways to visualize these disciplinary discourses about dissemination, innovation and evolution. Network analysis is bringing to light people and places, usually overlooked by public attention focused on a few big names, that otherwise had been very relevant in their own time as nodes for exchange or partnership. Vast and quickly increasing amounts […]

AKDC Organizes Workshop and Seminar on Cultural Heritage in Morocco

The Aga Khan Documentation Center at MIT (AKDC@MIT), in collaboration with the Tangier American Legation Institute for Moroccan Studies (TALIM) to organize a workshop and seminar on the topic of “Documenting Cultural Heritage in Morocco.” The workshop, to be held on April 11, considers standards and best practices for documenting and presenting cultural heritage, and includes participants from museums, heritage sites, and cultural institutions throughout Morocco. The seminar will be held the following day, and focus on documenting, preserving, and raising awareness of architectural heritage in northern Morocco. The seminar is generously sponsored by OCP Group. Sharon C. Smith, AKDC […]

Women’s History Month on Archnet

Today, the 8th of March, is International Women’s Day. Since 1975 the day has been designated by the UN as a time to reflect on progress made, to call for change and to celebrate acts of courage and determination by ordinary women who have played an extraordinary role in the history of their countries and communities. (http://www.un.org/en/events/womensday/) To mark the day, Archnet highlights the role of women in Islamic architecture and in the built environment of Muslim societies more generally. Click around the sliding tiles on our homepages to see monuments of Islamic architecture that were built through the generosity […]

Archnet’s Growing International Appeal

In last week’s article on the growth of Archnet in 2017, we noted the increasing globalization of Archnet’s user base, as evidenced by the fact that approximately 87% of Archnet users initiated their visit from outside of the United States. In this article we will look a bit more deeply into those figures. According to Google Analytics, Archnet received visitors from 208 countries and territories (as defined by Google) in 2017, literally an A to Z of countries from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe. This this article compares statistics on sessions initiated in those 208 areas during the period of August 1 […]

2017 Growth in Archnet Resources

Approximately 12,357 records were published in Archnet between January 1 and December 31, 2017, increasing the total number of records by approximately 10%. While much of the new material expands existing collections, new collections added in 2017 include sketchbooks and other items form from the archive of architect and designer Ali Tayar, the Isfahan Urban History Project undertaken by Lisa Golombek, Renata Holod and Claus Breede between 1974 and 1976, and photographs from the scholarly archives of Marilyn Jenkins-Madina, Curator Emerita, Department of Islamic Art at The Metropolitan Museum of Art; Yasser Tabbaa, a prominent scholar in Islamic art and […]

The Kamil and Rifat Chadirji Photographic Archive comes to AKDC@MIT

The Aga Khan Documentation Center at MIT (AKDC@MIT) is pleased to announce that it is now the home of the Kamil and Rifat Chadirji Photographic Archive. Kamil Chadirji (1897-1968), born to an influential Baghdad family, played a central role in the political life of lraq as founder and President of the National Democratic Party. His position allowed him unique opportunities to take photographs throughout Iraq. Kamil’s son, Rifat Chadirji (b. 1926), perhaps better known as one of the most influential Iraqi architects of the 20th century[1], was also an accomplished photographer, author, teacher, and critic. Together, their vast collection spans […]

LayerCake now with IIIF compatibility

The LayerCake development team at AKDC@MIT (James Yamada, designer/developer, and Sharon C. Smith, PI) is delighted to announce that our soon-to-be-released open access version of the LayerCake has been successful in implementing IIIF (International Image Interoperability Framework) compatibility using the Mirador viewer. While work on the tool continues, this is an important step in ensuring LayerCake’s usability for building maps layering narrative, time, and space simultaneously. The 3-axis mapping tool is intended for scholars, researchers, and students to tell stories, display collections, and reveal complex temporal and geographic relationships in ways that purely spatial maps cannot. The proof-of-concept can be […]

Middle East Librarians Association seeking nominations for two vacancies

The Nominating Committee of the Middle East Librarians Association is soliciting nominations (and self-nominations) for two vacancies: 1. Vice President/Program Chair 2. Member-at-Large Both the Vice President and the Member-at-Large serve on MELA’s Executive Board. For a full description of the responsibilities of these office holders, please take a look at the bylaws. Nominees shall be selected from among members with good standing. Joining is easy and is open to anyone who is employed by an institution to service Middle East library materials in a professional capacity (selection, acquisition, cataloging, indexing, reference work, administration, and/or preparation of research tools), as […]

Aga Khan Documentation Center Program Head selected as mentor for two professional organizations

Sharon C. Smith, Ph.D., program head of the Aga Khan Documentation Center at MIT, has been selected to serve as a mentor for early career and emerging scholars and librarians as well as those considering alt-ac, (alternative-academic) for Ph.D.s exploring career trajectories outside of tradition tenure-track professorships. Smith is serving as a mentor for both the Middle East Librarians Association and the Renaissance Society of America, and has been assigned a mentee from each organization at this time.

New opening date: 25 August 2017. Through the Eyes of Durdy Bayramov: Turkmen Village Life, 1960 – 80s

The Aga Khan Documentation Center at MIT is proud to support the upcoming exhibition, Through the Eyes of Durdy Bayramov Turkmen Village Life, 1960 – 80s. Durdy Bayramov (1938-2014) grew up in an orphanage in Turkmenistan and overcame the significant challenges of his youth to become an acclaimed Eurasian artist and photographer. Through a prolific career as a painter that spanned more than 55 years, Bayramov was best known for his compelling portraits. His tender approach evokes the special character and qualities within each of his subjects, with whom he shared a deep rapport. Through the Eyes of Durdy Bayramov: […]