This multi-tiered project was developed by ECA's Cultural Heritage Center in collaboration with the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad and the Iraq State Board of Antiquities and Heritage. Project activities included infrastructure upgrades to the Iraq Museum in Baghdad through refurbishment of the museum’s roof, 11 exhibition halls, 9 conservation labs, 3 floors of collections storage facilities, and installation of a new environmental control system. Other project outcomes included establishment of the Iraqi Institute for the Conservation of Antiquities and Heritage in Erbil, and increased professional capacity in Iraq’s heritage and museum communities through:
- A training program for Iraqi professionals in preservation of buildings and sites, collections care and conservation, and museum education and management, conducted at the Field Museum of Natural History;
- The bilingual publication of reports on past excavations by Iraqi archaeologists, in collaboration with The American Academic Research Institute in Iraq; and,
- The provision of paper and electronic publications to museum libraries in Baghdad and Mosul, coordinated by Stony Brook University in collaboration with the Iraq National Museum.
The ICHP was funded by the Embassy through a $12.9 million grant awarded to the NGO International Relief and Development. Project partners included the Iraq Ministry of Culture and State Board of Antiquities and Heritage; Kurdistan Regional Government; University of Delaware Art Conservation Department; Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library; Walters Art Museum; Field Museum of Natural History; U.S. National Park Service; Stony Brook University; and the American Academic Research Institute in Iraq.
Related:
- Babylon Damage Report
- Cultural Property Protection Iraq
- Iraqi Institute
- World Monument Fund: Future of Babylon
Learn more about the U.S. Department of State's Cultural Heritage Center.
