Last night we were very lucky to have such a distinguished panel discussing the preservation of cultural heritage in war zones. Whether it is deliberate attacks or collateral damage, both antiquities and contemporary art in the Middle East are facing unprecedented threats. The talk focused on the questions of how we can protect what remains, the prevention of future destruction of cultural heritage and the consequences if we do not act now.
Diddi Malek, art-advisor and founder of the Islamic Department at Bonhams auction house, acted as moderator between Dr John Curtis and Dr Tamara Chalabi. This was the first time the two speakers had met each other and both were keen to hear the other's perspective.
The talk began with Dr John Curtis, former Keeper of the Middle East Department at the British Museum and CEO of the Iran Heritage Foundation, giving a presentation on the destruction of cultural heritage in Iraq. Following this Dr Tamara Chalabi, writer, curator and co-founder of the Ruya Foundation, spoke more about the contemporary art world. She talked about her experiences curating the Iraq Pavilion at last year's 57th Venice Biennial 'Archaic', the difficulties she faced attaining the artefacts from the Iraq museum that had never previously left the country and the conversation this created between the ancient and contemporary.
We would like to thank our panel and everyone who came for such a fascinating talk!
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ISHKAR will be popping up across London and beyond all throughout the months of November and December. This is the perfect time to join us for som...
We are excited to announce the first ever ISHKAR Festival!Taking place over a week, join us for a series of inspiring talks, events and worksh...
Talk and Q&A with ISHKAR's Head of Travel, Zanna Baker, on her world-record-setting journey to cross Antarctica on foot.
Ice Maiden was an expedition in which a team of 6 women became the first all-female team to cross Antarctica using muscle power alone. The expedition completed 1704km over 61-days in January 2018. Zanna Baker was one of the 6 women to take part in this record-setting expedition. They were the first team to cross Antarctica without prior polar experience.
When two men compete to qualify in the Winter Olympics for the first time for Afghanistan, they realize that home is worth fighting for.
ISHKAR hosted an evening film screening of Where the Light Shines, the debut documentary from Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer Daniel Etter with stunning cinematography by Angello Faccini.
Yemeni cuisine is like no other; a fusion of Indian, Turkish and East African cooking born out of a rich history of trade & migration. And yet, despite its inviting aromas and depth of flavours, it is almost unheard of.
We are launching our new annual magazine with a debate about the future of journalism. Journalism as we know it is facing crisis. Media budgets have been squeezed as appetites for free on-demand content have become ever more rapacious.
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We hosted an intimate screening of Afghan Star, a heartwarming documentary by journalist and film-maker Havana Ma...
Laila at the Bridge is a deeply personal perspective on the global addiction epidemic directed by two great friends of ISHKAR, Elizabeth and Gulistan Mirzaei. We were delighted to host an intimate screening of this award winning documentary. Find out more about the film and how to support Laila here.
This extraordinary book...warm and engaging...like a photograph magicked to life.
- The Spectator.
A journey through the most unlikely of gardens: the oases of peace people create in the midst of war.
We exhibited artist Sophie Jane Stafford 's project 'Rose of the Desert' over Kensington Art Weekend 2018 in the Goldfinger Showroom. Sophie's work explores the interaction of modern and historic traditions during the International Festival of the Sahara
Over the last few weeks we have begun hosting a series of workshops to learn about the art of the crafts we sell. We were very lucky to have Nasser come and teach the basics of Nuristani woodcarving.
We collaborated with our good friends at Walk the Talk to host a little last minute Christmas shopping party. The evening was fall of cheer with nibbles provided by the glorious Potage and Christmassy drinks made with the wonderful Ishka vodka (yes Ishka but not ISHKAR)
On the 24th of October was a great honour to host the award winning TED speaker, architect and author, Marwa Al Sabbouni. Marwa is a Syrian architect who lives in Homs.
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