Conserving Culture – Historic Cities Program

CONSERVATION: Conserving culture

Historic Ciies exhibit McCord – Geoffrey Antsey

This attitude is what Prince Karim Aga Khan, the spiritual leader of the Shia Imami Ismaili Muslims (or Ismailis), wants to change with his Historic Cities Program. Part of the Aga Khan Trust for Culture, the program aims to show that culture is not just a luxury and that investing in it has real economic and social benefits for impoverished communities in the Muslim world.

In North America, when a building passes the hundred-year mark, there’s a good chance that a plaque will be put on it. We don’t have much antiquity here, and if there’s a building that our grandparents remember from their youth we’ll probably fight tooth and nail so that our children will be able to see it. Sure, part of the zeal comes from a desire to keep up the scenery, but there is more to it than that. Such buildings connect us to our past and in doing so enrich our culture-making the price tag to save them well worth our tax dollars.

But some other parts of the world don’t have the wealth we do to spend on urban conservation and as a result, even older and more significant architecture is left to rot. Such investment in culture is a luxury that these communities can’t afford, and losses in heritage are often the inescapable result of an economic position.

The McGill Tribune

This attitude is what Prince Karim Aga Khan, the spiritual leader of the Shia Imami Ismaili Muslims (or Ismailis), wants to change with his Historic Cities Program. Part of the Aga Khan Trust for Culture, the program aims to show that culture is not just a luxury and that investing in it has real economic and social benefits for impoverished communities in the Muslim world. It’s an interesting premise that has already gotten a foothold in many places all over the world. The projects range from renovating old temples to rebuilding ancient walls and castles, and the AKTC has commissioned an exhibition tour around Canada to help raise awareness for the program’s current works and their benefits. This week, it has made its way to Montreal’s McCord Museum.

The exhibition shows five of the program’s projects, taking place in Egypt, Afghanistan, India, Mali and Syria, with the use of informational panels and models. For the most part, the panels do a good job of showing the size and scope of the projects, especially when they use large detailed maps and diagrams, but it would have been nice if the exhibit had more than two models.

Overall, there just isn’t that much physicality to the exhibit, which keeps it more informative than impressive. This isn’t to say that the exhibit isn’t interesting, far from it, but for those who like rare paintings and ancient artifacts with their information, none of that splendor is found here. However, not everyone minds a purely educational experience, and if you have an interest in this field there’s the fact that McCord is across the street from the McGill campus, so the trip is probably worth it, even if the program’s aims seem more concerned with pedagogy than aesthetics.

The Aga Khan Historic Cities Programme Exhibition is hosted by the McCord Museum (690 Sherbrooke W.) from April 1 to April 13. Admission is free.

The McGill Tribune
Related Posts