Archive

al Mawrid gathers together documents, images and publications into an archival “resource” for research on the history of the visual arts. This resource includes physical materials such as photographic prints and negatives, and rare books and periodicals, as well as interviews with artists and practitioners, but it largely consists of digitized copies of material held in other collections that at once preserve these materials and make them available to students, scholars and the general public. It consists of two independent archives: one focused on modern art and the other on photography.

The Arab Art Archive works with artists, their families, collections, galleries, arts organizations and other institutions throughout the region and around the world to digitize a range of documentary material pertaining to the history of modern art in the Arab countries. This material is loaned to NYUAD for digitization and returned to its owner along with a copy of the digital files. Digital files are stored and preserved in perpetuity by the NYU Library’s Digital Technology Services in New York. The use of digital files is governed by customized legal agreements. Materials licensed to be made available to the public will be accessible through an archive portal that will launch in the next year. The archive portal will provide a fact-checked reference on the history of exhibitions, arts institutions and arts publications. Custodians of material for digitization are encouraged to contact us.

The Akkasah Photography Archive acquires collections of prints and negatives, and it also creates digital versions of collections that remain with individuals and institutions seeking to preserve and share their collections. Akkasah is a scholarly enterprise and it does not seek any commercial rights over the materials it holds. Both the archive and the special collection of photobooks and albums are open to scholars, students and the general public by appointment. We welcome proposals for new collections and collaborations.

Addition to the Archive

al Mawrid receives a generous donation of the complete archival collection of catalogs and ephemera of all exhibitions and programs held at the Atassi Gallery in Damascus, Syria (1993-2009). Donated by the Atassi Foundation for Arts and Culture.