News from SUNY Cortland

For more information contact: Jennifer Wilson, 607-753-2232

Brooks Museum Plans Candlelight Vigil Over Loss Of Arabic Antiquities

CORTLAND, NY (04/04/2008; 1520)(readMedia)-- The Brooks Museum, an archeological museum at SUNY Cortland, will mark the tragic destruction of Iraq’s and Afghanistan’s museums, archaeological sites and cultural monuments on Thursday, April 10, at SUNY Cortland.

A “virtual” candle-light vigil will follow short film screenings about the looting of Iraq and Afghanistan’s cultural heritage. The event will take place from 1:30-4 p.m. in the museum, located in Cornish Hall, Room D-312. Participants also will informally discuss the impact of the looted museums on the world's cultural heritage.

The event, which is free and open to the public, is organized and hosted by Joanna Alario, a museum intern and senior anthropology major from Ithaca, N.Y.

The short videos include “Raiders of the Lost Ark - Iraq” and “No End in Sight,” as well as various news reports. Commemorative items and informational brochures from Saving Antiquities for Everyone (SAFE) will be available.

According to Sharon Steadman, associate professor of anthropology and the museum curator, museums and archaeological sites throughout the Middle East have been repeatedly looted and vandalized during the last two decades, resulting in a loss of irreplaceable cultural and historical information. April 10 marks the fifth anniversary of the destruction and theft of tens of thousands of artifacts in the Iraq Museum. Afghanistan’s Kabul Museum also experienced the theft of its antiquities.

For more information, contact Steadman at (607) 753-2308.

-30-