The Arab view of its shared history at Sharjah Maritime Museum

Sharjah hosts Arab launch of virtual museum exploring Arab, Turkish and European relations.

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By (Staff Reporter)

Published: Fri 22 May 2015, 1:15 AM

Last updated: Tue 5 Sep 2023, 3:37 PM

The Sharjah Maritime Museum on Wednesday hosted the exclusive Arab launch of ‘Sharing History’, an exciting new international virtual museum project involving Sharjah Museums Department (SMD) as a strategic partner in cooperation with the Museum With No Frontiers (MWNF).

The project, which aims to promote intercultural dialogue through art and heritage, saw experts from 22 countries across the Arab world.

Turkey and Europe worked together to present the narratives of their shared histories from their own perspectives.

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Featuring a searchable database of thousands of artefacts and the option for users to “curate” their own exhibition, the MWNF is a virtual platform that hosts online exhibitions, the latest of which, Sharing History, explores the relationship between the Arab World, the Ottoman Empire and Europe between 1815 and 1918 — an important historical period that still determines modern relations. The project attempts to present the complex and sensitive period from the perspectives of the research carried out by the countries involved — as opposed to the more prevalent “Western” view of events.

As well as supporting the project strategically throughout and hosting Wednesday’s prestigious event, the SMD has contributed collections from some of its main museums to the online database and exhibitions. It has also co-curated several of the exhibition themes, most notably Economy and Trade.

The Sharing History site features 10 themed exhibitions displaying historic photographs, works of art and artefacts, and a searchable database with information on about 3,000 items.

It is the culmination of a two-year collaboration between experts from the Arab world, Turkey and Europe who have researched and analysed their shared histories.

Wednesday’s event marks the only launch of Sharing History in the Arab World.

The project has already launched in Ankara, Turkey, with a European launch happening in Vienna, Austria, next month.

Manal Ataya, Director-General of the SMD, said: “It’s a huge honour for us to play such an important role in an international project that helps encourage intercultural dialogue through shared heritage.

“It demonstrates our commitment to working with partners from across the globe to celebrate the interconnections between different cultural legacies and to promote harmony through art and history.”

Visitors to the Sharing History portal will be able to inspect a huge variety of objects, images and documents contributed by partners from 22 countries, including items from the Sharjah Museum of Islamic Civilisation, Sharjah Maritime Museum, Al Hisn Fort and the Orientalist Collection of His Highness Dr Shaikh Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah.

Themed timelines and historic profiles of each participating country provide further context, while special interactive features allow users to create their own personalised collections or curate their own exhibitions.

Cultural tourism trail

Maintaining the theme of dialogue through culture, the SMD is hosting a cultural tourism workshop today with the aim of developing ideas for Sharjah’s first cultural tourism trail based on Sharjah Museums.

The workshop, which follows from the Sharing History launch event, will be attended by key partners including the Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Development Authority and Shurooq.

“We want local partner organisations to get something practical out of the Sharing History launch, so we decided to host this brainstorming workshop to hopefully develop a tourist trail around Sharjah Museums based in the Heart of Sharjah,” said Ataya.

“It’s something tourists with a particular historical and cultural interest can use to plan their trip and explore Sharjah before their visit. The workshop is in the same spirit as the launch of Sharing History — bridging cultures and introducing history from a local perspective. The first trail could be rolled out later in the year, with more to follow in the future.”

reporters@khaleejtimes.com

(Staff Reporter)

Published: Fri 22 May 2015, 1:15 AM

Last updated: Tue 5 Sep 2023, 3:37 PM

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