Category Archives: Collaborations

Data and images documenting 20 historically significant Islamic monuments now available on Archnet

The Aga Khan Documentation Center is thrilled to announce our collaboration with the Research and Information Center for Asian Studies (RICAS) at the Institute for Advanced Studies on Asia (University of Tokyo) and Five Cross Architects (Mumbai, India) (FCA) to safeguard an endangered archival collection documenting 750 Indian Islamic monuments from the Delhi Sultanate era (1191–1526 CE). This treasure trove of 40,000+ photographs, drawings, field notes, and inscriptions has been digitized, preserved, and is now being made available to both scholars and the general public on Archnet.org. Data on and images of 20 monuments was published this morning. Additional monuments […]

Registration Closing Soon for “Re:Fest: A Research Festival for The Curious” in Lagos, Nigeria

NAIROBI, 10 June 2024 – CoDesign Collective [till recently operating as Ministry of Architecture] is launching a new initiative, Co-School with its first event titled Re:Fest: A Research Festival for The Curious. In the words of Anthony Baba-Oladeji, Founder of CoDesign Collective, “Africa’s present educational system is unable to grapple with the pace of advancements in her built environment and cities, and as such, ReFest will be a yearly event intervention to complement Africa’s presently underfunded educational operation by filling knowledge gaps such as metadata on cities, research into local materials and new representation techniques & technologies such as film, […]

Kanan Makiya to Lend his Expertise to the CAC Human Library Series Documenting the Lives of Arab Americans

We are delighted to extend an invitation to you for a special event organized by the Center for Arabic Culture (CAC) and hosted by the Aga Khan Documentation Center, MIT Libraries (AKDC@MIT): the Human Library with Professor Kanan Makiya. Sat. Feb. 10, 2024, 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm MIT Room 3-133, Entrance at 77 Mass Ave. Cambridge, MA. At the Human Library, we aim to bring together community members to share their life stories and experiences. We refer to this series as the Human Library that allows for people to learn from the experiences of people in much the same way […]

Digital Interfaces Workshops on Documenting West African Heritage Held at MIT

The A3-Archnet Digital Interfaces Workshop week, hosted by the Aga Khan Documentation Center @ MIT, was held on 27 February – 3 March 2023 in the MIT Libraries. The Nigerian delegation was led by A3 founder Baba Oladeji and consisted of three winners of the A3-Archnet Writing Competition, Adefola Toye, Muhammed Madandola, Abdullah Ogunsetan. The Nigerian delegation received an orientation tour from Matt Saba, Interim Program Head and Michael Toler, Archnet Content Manager in the Aga Khan Documentation Center at MIT (AKDC@MIT), on Sunday, 26th February 2023. A fourth prize winner, Enwonwu Chiagozie Mitchelle, was unable to participate in […]

Digital Documentation of African Cultural Heritage, Friday, March 3

As Black History Month draws to a close, the A3-Archnet collaboration to document African architecture is starting a week of workshops at MIT that will conclude on Friday with a public presentation on Friday, March 3, at 3 pm in The Nexus of Hayden Library. It will also be streamed live on Zoom. The in-person event is free and open to the public. Registration is required for the webinar. The participants in the workshops-Muhammed Madandola, recipient of a degree in architecture from the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology in Nigeria and a Master’s in Islamic art, architecture, and urbanism from […]

MIT Student Employment Opportunity: Digital Interfaces Assistant for A3-Archnet Collaboration

A3: Archives of African Architectures and the Aga Khan Documentation Center at MIT are seeking a student worker to assist the A3-Archnet Collaborative for the Documentation of African Architecture with the development of a seamless flow of information between the a3africa.org and archnet.org platforms. The work will include the tasks listed below, but to the extent possible, tasks assigned will reflect the skills and interests of the successful applicant. Write the programming code that allows seamless information being pulled from a3africa.org onto Archnet.org and vice-versa Design a search-optimized, mobile-friendly web interface Test, identify, and resolve any technical problems arising from […]

Student Employment Opportunity: Research Assistant for Mapping Cultural Networks Project-Extended

The Aga Khan Documentation Center at MIT (AKDC@MIT) and Project Cornelia at the University of Leuven (Department of Art History), Belgium, have been awarded a MIT International Science and Technology Initiatives (MISTI) Global Seed Fund grant to explore spatial and temporal mapping of networks of cultural influence among the creators of visual and material culture (artists, architects, and the like), as well as the subsequent ‘life’ of the works they create. How can we “map” or otherwise visually represent relationships of collaboration, influence, and patronage across time and space? How can Digital Humanities tools help us to follow the fate […]

ARCHNET Content Manager to Participate in Bicentennial Conference of the Tangier American Legation, Morocco

Michael Toler, Archnet Content Manager, will participate in the annual April Seminar of the Tangier American Legation Institute for Moroccan Studies, headquartered in the old American Legation in the medina of Tangier, Morocco. Though the building has completely transformed over the past 200 years, the property was originally gifted to the young nation of the United States in 1821, making 2021 the bicentennial anniversary of the Legation. In celebration of the occasion and the long friendship between the United States and Morocco that it represents, this year’s annual April Seminar has the theme of “The Tangier American Legation’s First 200 […]

Archnet To Be Featured at Upcoming SHASS Digital Collaborative Session

On February 25, 2021, the AKDC will present “Archnet 3.0: Enhancing Archnet for Teaching in the Digital Humanities” as part of the SHASS Digital Teaching and Research Collaborative Sessions at MIT. SHASS Digital Teaching and Research Collaborative Sessions take place each Thursday from 4:30-5:30 during the term. What is “Archnet 3.0”? AKDC@MIT and the Aga Khan Trust for Culture are currently in the process of re-developing Archnet, a freely accessible resource focused on the built environment in societies influenced by Muslim culture. Archnet’s mission is to provide ready access to unique textual and media material to facilitate teaching, scholarship, and […]

Archnet Content Manager invited to participate in “Preserving and conveying memory to foster Alterity.”

Michael Toler, Archnet Content Manager, has been invited to participate in a webinar, “Préserver et transmettre la mémoire pour ancre l’Altérité,” organized by the Ta’aruf Center of the Rabita Mohammedia Al Ulema in Morocco. The event takes place January 25-28, is part of a continuing dialogue on “how to resolve a number of tensions which have ossified the dialogue between cultures and religions. The issues around memory – how to preserve it and pass it on to the next generations – seem to be a major challenge for our societies in terms of peacebuilding and encouraging open-mindedness to the notion […]