We talk to Nawar Ihsan, Antiquities Restorer at The Iraq Museum. Nawar held a Nahrein – BISI Visiting Scholarship at The British Museum with Dr Paul Collins.

Tell us a little about yourself.

My name is Nawar Ihsan. I come from a family interested in heritage and art. My grandfather was a sculptor and had turned his house into a museum. I have been working in the field of Iraqi heritage for more than twelve years. I worked as director of the Iraqi Fashion Museum. I also designed historical and heritage costumes and had artistic works such as paintings from Iraqi heritage. I moved to work in the Iraqi Museum, where I was the artistic director for the museum halls, and then my final stop was the restoration and maintenance of antiquities. My learning was at the hands of Italian experts, and I gained experience through my work practice.

I also have many projects in the field, where I carried out technical maintenance for the most important monuments displayed in the Iraq Museum, such as winged bulls, Assyrian murals, the wall of the Temple of Uruk, Sumerian urns, and many others. Also, on a more comprehensive level, I carried out artistic maintenance. The entire museum collection is in the Basra Cultural Museum, which contains complementary parts, as well as the Maysan Museum, and work is underway on the Mosul Museum collection. I also worked as a project coordinator between the SBAH and heritage organisations such as the Safina Projects. I have held several workshops and training courses to develop the skills of museum workers, some of which were in cooperation with the Italian Embassy at the Italian Center in Baghdad in addition to the Basra Cultural Museum as the opening of the maintenance laboratory, and others in the ancient city of Babylon with the establishment of a workshop near the Lion of Babylon.

Tell us more about your project.

My project on museums in general and the Iraqi Museum in particular is titled: Iraq Museum Marketing through the Application of Sustainable Development Goals. My research aims to develop the reality of museums in Iraq in proportion to the significance of the civilisation they contain and to activate their social and educational role to achieve sustainability in heritage, learning, and cultural tourism. The research methodology was a comparison between the Iraqi Museum and museums in the United Kingdom to identify strengths and weaknesses. The research was hosted by Dr. Paul Collins, Keeper of the Middle East, in the British Museum. The research involved identifying the methods and policies followed by museums, such as the methods of display, lighting, designs, visitor movement, services provided by the museum, and its educational and social role. During my stay in the UK, I visited more than 26 museums in London and other cities, and also met with a number of department directors at the British Museum. This enabled me to form a broad and comprehensive impression of museum management in the UK.

How was your Visiting Scholarship experience in the UK?

The Nahrein Network and the British Institute for the Study of Iraq provided me with wonderful experiences, allowing me to benefit from the expertise of leading institutions. As the subject of the research revolves around museums, and the United Kingdom contains a large number of diverse museums, the opportunity to host me at the British Museum was an honour for me, as it is the museum that attracts most visitors. It is also a great opportunity to get to know experts and innovators and build knowledge in this field of work. It is certain that getting to know the cities and lifestyles in the United Kingdom had a beautiful impact on civilizational and cultural diversity.

What was the highlight of your trip?

I was able to achieve a lot within the short and quick visiting scholarship in London, including my lecture titled “Iraqi Heritage Between Recovery and Preservation” at UCL in collaboration with the Iraqi Embassy, attended by the Cultural Attaché and important figures from the Iraqi community in the UK. My presentation discussed the state of heritage in Iraq, its divisions, causes of loss, and how to protect it, while highlighting the role of the Iraqi Museum in preserving antiquities.

In addition, I had the great opportunity to attend a conference on social attraction in the city of Bristol, as its topic is considered an important part of the research that I am conducting. Another highlight was my trip to Oxford, hosted by Dr. Paul Collins, to see the Ashmolean Museum, which is considered the world’s first university museum and was distinguished by modern display methods and a great collection in the Mesopotamian Civilization section. I also visited Cambridge and experienced the Fitzwilliam Museum.

How will your scholarship help you with your research?

Travelling enables us to acquire and experience new cultures, let alone if it is specifically for conducting research in a country that is known for sustaining its culture and history. Through this scholarship, I was able to conduct field visits to several museums in London and other cities in the UK, which definitely helped me expand my knowledge and skills in a wide area of museum management. Using historical buildings in museums while intertwining modern interior styles was fascinating, and I hope to incorporate these contemporary methods into my research and my work back in Iraq.

Through participant observation at different museums, I learned a lot about the methods of dealing with visitors, and I understood the importance of museum layout and visitor movement within galleries. This is an extremely important matter for increasing visitor engagement and experience.

We talk to Shazad Jaseem Tofiq, Architect at the Sulaimani Directorate of Antiquities. Shazad held a Nahrein – BISI Visiting Scholarship at The British Museum. Shazad’s project is titled Contemporary Approaches to Museum Design and is under the supervision of Dr Paul Collins.

Tell us a little about yourself and your background.

My name is Shazad Jaseem Tofiq and I’m an architect at the Sulaimani Antiquities Directorate. I’ve been working there since December 2007. My work primarily involves the preservation of historic houses and gallery design development at the Sulaimani Museum.

Over the years, I’ve been involved in several preservation projects where I’ve utilized my skills and expertise to conserve historic buildings. It’s always a challenging task because each building has its unique set of problems. However, it’s also rewarding when we manage to restore a building to its former glory.

At the Sulaimani Museum, I’ve also been involved in designing galleries and exhibits. As an architect, I’m able to utilize my knowledge of spatial design to create visually appealing and functional spaces.

Tell us more about your project and the main benefits of the Visiting Scholarship?

My project’s main focus was to observe and analyze the spatial design and configuration of the collections and exhibits at different UK museums. I received a two-month Nahrein Network – BISI Scholarship at the British Museum, which provided me with an opportunity to learn from their well-developed museum exhibits and design. Through this scholarship, I gained valuable insights into the spatial design components, collection configuration, and architectural elements of exhibits. I had the opportunity to visit over 22 museums across the UK.

I also undertook several semi-structured interviews with related professionals to explore the design process approach and rationale of those exhibits as well as the museum. It was an enriching experience that has allowed me to bring back new ideas and knowledge to my work at the Sulaimani Antiquities Directorate.

What are your plans for your project once you’re back in Iraq?

After completing my scholarship at the British Museum, I am now planning to take my learnings and apply them to my work at the Sulaimani Antiquities Directory. I believe that the knowledge and insights I gained during my time in the UK can be useful in improving our museum exhibits and preservation projects.

I plan to share my learnings by writing a research paper that summarizes my findings and observations. This paper will detail my analysis of the spatial design components and configuration of the collection and architectural elements of the exhibit at the British Museum. It will also provide insight into the design process approach and rationale of those exhibits.

Moreover, I am also planning to organize two workshops for related museum professionals, including architects, archaeologists, interior designers, educators, and other relevant experts. These workshops will provide a platform for us to discuss and exchange ideas on how to apply my learnings to our respective fields. By doing so, we can collaborate and contribute to the improvement of museum exhibits and preservation projects in our region.

Workshop held at the Imam Hussein Holy Shrine, Karbala, 26 November 2018: report by Paul Collins

Organized by Dr Paul Collins (Nahrein Network), Dr Alaa Ahmed (Imam Hussein Museum), and Dr Jaafar Jotheri (Qadisiyah University)

The workshop brought together twenty-three representatives of seventeen museums (out of twenty-one museums that had accepted an invitation to attend) from across Iraq, along with interested parties from the Prime Minister’s Office, Mosul University, and Najaf University:

1. Al-Ataba al-Husseiniya, Imam Hussein Holy Shrine, Karbala
2. Al-Kafeel Museum, Imam Abbas Holy Shrine, Karbala
3. Al-Muthanna Museum
4. Amarah Museum
5. Anbar Museum
6. Babylon Museum
7. Basrah Museum
8. Diwaniyah Museum
9. Diyala Museum
10. Green Zone Museum
11. Kut Museum
12. Mosul Museum
13. Najaf Museum
14. Nasiriyah Museum
15. Samarra Museum
16. Samawah Museum
17. Wasit Museum

Not in attendance: Duhok Museum, Erbil Museum, Kirkuk Museum, and Sulaymaniyah Museum.

Although the majority of the museums represented at the workshop are run by the SBAH, a small number are linked to universities or religious institutions with different organisational structures and resources. The museums vary considerably in the size of the populations they serve, ranging from cultural heritage sites to provincial centres and major cities like Basra and Baghdad. This inevitably means that there are many variables around local and regional demographics and infrastructures that need to be considered in evaluating the responses to the workshop questions. Indeed, some museums are not open (e.g. Mosul) and lack display cases (e.g. Diyala).

The principal aim of the workshop was to bring together museum professionals from across Iraq to assess the current situation and explore opportunities for knowledge exchange, especially around best practice. This is the first occasion that such a meeting has been taken place in Iraq, certainly within the last three decades. It was hoped that one outcome might be the formation of a network of country-wide museum professionals. An offer by Dr Alaa Ahmed, Director of the Imam Hussein Museum, to lead on the establishment of an Iraqi Museums Association to be based in Karbala was warmly welcomed by the participants.

The plan for the workshop was to use break-out spaces where small groups could discuss a series of questions, record their answers on flip charts, before coming together to share and discuss the results. The available space—a lecture room with fixed, tiered seating—meant it was necessary to change the format; there was little opportunity for conversations other than between colleagues from the same museum who sat together on a row. The workshop questions were delivered from a podium at the front of the room (translated from English into Arabic by Dr Jaafar Jotheri) and, after time for discussion/thought, representatives of each museum gave their answers in turn. Dr Jaafar recorded these on a white board (see below). Not every museum responded to every question.

The questions posed were deliberately very broad with the intention of revealing the range of audiences currently visiting the museums as well as aspirations for creating greater diversity in the future. Participants were asked to identify their museum’s top three visitor groups – suggestions were offered on a slide. Some museums chose to provide longer lists but for consistency these details have not been included in the following summaries.

The format of the workshop meant that there was time to explore only four questions.

1. Who are your current visitors?

School children represent a significant component of museum visitors followed by university students. Few museums identified local tourists as significant, although foreign tourists figured heavily for some institutions. Other museums had distinct visitor profiles because of their location (Green Zone) or collections (Al-Ataba). Only the Iraq Museum and Al-Ataba identified academic researchers as sizable.

2. Who would you like to visit?

A clear desire for many museums is to attract a greater number of families, while a current lack of female visitors was also noted. There was also a desire to see more visitors from the surrounding countryside. Some institutions who didn’t regularly receive school and university students saw this as priority. A small number of museums were interested in attracting people on low income and those with special needs.

3. How would you encourage visitors to your museum?

A variety of very interesting approaches were suggested. Multimedia – both in galleries as well as through social-media – was viewed as an important method of engagement. A significant concern was the lack of transport links to museums, many of which were considered to be poorly located. A greater understanding of the country’s rich cultural heritage, which might be provided through school education, was also viewed as an important method for encouraging visitors.

4. What one thing would you change about your museum?

• Change the location of the museum
• Refurbish the museum building/gallery
• Provide unique exhibitions
• Provide transportation to the museum

Answers focused on concerns around the museum’s location, infrastructure and transport links. There was also an interest in providing temporary exhibitions.

Evaluation

Future workshops would benefit from a more flexible meeting space to provide greater opportunities for discussion and debate. This meeting was, however, very successful in attracting a large number of Iraq’s museum professionals; there was a clear sense that they valued the opportunity not only to meet collectively but to contribute personally. Participants were also keen to be part of an Iraq museums association, which would provide a means for developing future workshops/gatherings.

The broad questions around museum audiences addressed at this workshop fits with a growing interest within museums globally about identifying visitor types and developing ways to encourage specific segments, e.g. http://intercom.museum/documents/1-4Waltl.pdf, including in the Middle East: https://lra.le.ac.uk/bitstream/2381/37244/1/2015AlAliMPhD.pdf. Finding ways of expanding the number of visits by families to museums is of particular interest and there are a wide range of case studies to draw upon, e.g., https://gulfnews.com/uae/family-fun-at-sharjah-musuems-1.1093567

A future workshop might explore in greater detail what Iraq’s museums are currently doing to support their visitors as well as identify a segment, such as ‘families’, as a focus for sharing ideas around best practice and to develop new approaches. Other areas of interest, such as the use of multimedia, could also be explored in a workshop, not least around identifying sources of funding as well discussing inherent issues of equipment and software maintenance and update.

In order to deliver in these areas, future meetings could also be opportunities for training in areas such as audience evaluation and management; desirables also identified at a workshop held at Basrah Museum in January 2018: http://www.friendsofbasrahmuseum.org.uk/sites/default/files/report_on_fobm_jan_2018_training_programme_evaluation.pdf

 

The answers in full

Translation provided byRahma Ismail,Project Administrator, Centre on Culture, History and Humanities for Sustainable Development, University of Kurdistan Hewler.

Question 1

1. Babylon Museum:
   1. Tourist groups
      1. Local
      2. International (foreign)
   2. School trips
   3. Family trips
   4. Foreign individuals
2. Mosul Museum:
   1. School trips
   2. Researchers and specialists
   3. Tourist groups
3. The Green Zone Museum (mobile)
   1. Diplomats
   2. University students
   3. Cultural events
4. Anbar Museum:
   1. High school students
   2. University students
   3. Post graduate students
   4. Senior citizens
5. The Iraqi Museum:
   1. Elementary, secondary, high school and university students
   2. Researchers
   3. Senior citizens and ?
   4. Foreign visitors
6. Samawa Museum:
   1. Elementary school students
   2. University students
   3. High school students
   4. Others
7. Nasiriya Museum:
   1. Local schools: elementary, high school
   2. Local universities
   3. Local tourist groups
8. Diyala Museum:
   1. Local elementary schools
   2. Local secondary schools
   3. Local high schools
   4. Local universities
   5. Local researchers
   6. Miscellaneous
9. Al-Ataba Al-Husseineya (Manuscripts)
   1. Foreign and others:
      1. Universities
      2. Researchers and academics
      3. Religious institutions
   2. Schools
   3. Miscellaneous

10. Al-Kafeel Museum:
    1. Foreign tourists
    2. Schools
    3. Universities and researchers
    4. Families
    5. Institutions
    6. Diplomats

Question 2

1. Babylon Museum:
   1. The poor, countryside residents, slum residents
2. Mosul Museum:
   1. Families
3. The Iraqi Museum:
   1. Elementary school students
4. Anbar Museum:
   1. Families
   2. University faculty members
   3. Politicians
5. The Green Zone Museum:
   1. Women
6. Nasiriya Museum:
   1. Persons with special needs
   2. Children under school age
7. Al-Muthenna:
   1. Families
   2. Countryside residents
8. Al-Ataba Al-Husseineya Manuscripts
   1. No problem?
9. Najaf Museum:
   1. Women
   2. The educated class
   3. Businessmen
   4. Countryside residents
10. Waset Museum:
    1. Families
    2. Countryside residents
    3. Persons with special needs
11. Diyala Museum:
    1. Families
    2. Politicians
    3. Countryside residents
12. Basra Museum:
    1. Families
    2. Craftsmen
    3. Countryside residents
13. Al-Kafeel Museum:
    1. Children
14. Al-Ataba Al-Husseineya Manuscripts
    1. Visitors
    2. Schools
    3. University students
    4. Religious institutions
    5. Charities
    6. Researchers
    7. Religious scholars
    8. Diplomats
    9. Religious events
    10. Government activities and training courses
    11. Religious visits
15. Basra Museum:
    1. Students:
       1. Schools
       2. Universities
       3. Colleges
    2. Civil society organizations
    3. Miscellaneous; writers, media, companies, diplomatic missions
    4. The military

Question 3

1. Babylon Museum:
   1. Digital folders
   2. Mobile teams
   3. Free entry for the poor
2. Diwaniya Museum:
   1. Cultural awareness for students
3. Mosul Museum:
   1. Media
   2. Develop a museum visit schedule at schools
4. The Iraqi Museum:
   1. Non-museum activities; political events
   2. Media coverage important heritage pieces
   3. Museum visits for children
   4. Free entry on special days/ holidays
   5. Cultural conferences
   6. Publicity promotion at borders and airports
5. Anbar Museum:
   1. Library inside the museum
   2. Collaborations with government institutions
   3. Researching audience needs/ interests
   4. Folders
6. The Green Zone:
   1. Rehabilitating exhibition location
   2. Publicity prior to visits
7. Wasit Museum:
   1. Selecting appropriate location for the museum
   2. Use of social media
   3. Changing the exhibited pieces
   4. 3d stereoscopic images/ sculptures
   5. Folders
   6. Presenting results of ? in the museum
   7. Non-museum activities
8. Diyala Museum:
   1. Screens
   2. Lectures and workshops on paintings and antiques
   3. Games for children
   4. Library
   5. Folders/ filing
   6. Presenting results of?
9. Basra Museum:
   1. Exhibitions presenting the current situation
   2. Subjective workshops for materials not present in the museum
   3. Media promotion
   4. Presentation technology
10. Nasiriya Museum:
    1. Virtual visits
    2. Developing divisions that represent the society
11. Samawa Museum:
    1. Folders/filing
    2. Exhibitions for paintings not owned by the museum
    3. Book signings
    4. Countryside visits (mobile museum)
12. Al-Ataba Al-Husseineya Manuscripts
    1. TV channels & satellites
    2. Rehabilitation of manuscripts division in the university
    3. Awareness/education through trainings and workshops
13. Najaf Museum:
    1. Find out audience (tribes) interests
    2. Exhibit paintings representing cultural heritage in the museum
    3. Renewing exhibit structures periodically
    4. Use of media
    5. General awareness raising

Question 4

1. Babylon Museum:
   1. Move the museum to the presidential palace
2. Diwaniya Museum:
   1. New building for the museum
3. The Iraqi Museum:
   1. Professional management
4. Anbar Museum:
   1. Exhibit original pieces
5. The Green Zone Museum:
   1. Sculptures for well-known personalities
6. Nasiriya Museum:
   1. Expanding the museum
7. Samawa Museum:
   1. A building for heritage maintenance
8. Al-Ataba Al-Husseineya Manuscripts:
   1. Academic institution
9. Najaf Museum:
   1. Transpiration facilities
10. Al-Ataba Al-Husseineya Manuscripts:
    1. New halls?
11. Wasit Museum:
    1. Move the museum outside the university
12. Basra Museum:
    1. Transportation facilities
13. Diyala:
    1. Install vitrines
14. Mosul Museum:
    1. Rehabilitate the museum