Looters Plunder Iraq's
Millennia-Old Legacy

By Mary Wiltenburg and Philip Smucker

BOSTON and BAGHDAD—He could see the mob coming, and feared not for his life, but for the treasures of Iraq's ancient past—some of them 7,000 years old—that had been left in his care. "I took my white underpants off and put them on a stick and ran up the street to the US Marines," says archaeologist Mohsin Kadun. "I asked them—no, begged them—to help me preserve our treasures, but they would not drive down the street."

This past weekend, the frenzy of looting that has engulfed Baghdad since US troops took control of the city last Wednesday spread to the one place archaeologists worldwide hoped might be spared: the Iraqi National Museum. As hundreds of looters ran down the halls, stealing or smashing almost seventy percent of the repository's valuable statues, carvings, and artifacts, Mr. Kadun, a 30-year museum employee, stood helpless at the gates, screaming.

Iraq has been called one giant historic site, and for eighty years its national Museum has been the repository of irreplaceable records and collections of ancient art and artifacts from the country's Babylonian, Assyrian, and Mesopotamian past. The ransacking has caused incalculable loss to Iraq's, and the world's, cultural heritage, experts say. "If Iraq has anything besides oil, any meaning for humanity, it is in this history," says Paul Zimansky, professor of Near Eastern archaeology at Boston University. Before the war began, Kadun was in charge of moving artifacts into two giant vaults to prevent them from crashing off their pedestals as US bombs shook Baghdad. Other archaeologists also took protective measures. A group of scholars, conservators, and collectors, including MacGuire Gibson of the University of Chicago, the leading US researcher in Mesopotamian archaeology, drew up a list for the Pentagon of more than 4,000 crucial Iraqi museums, monuments, and archaeological digs, urging commanders to spare them. "The museum was at the top of that list," Dr. Gibson says.

When the bombs stopped falling, the museum stood intact, its marvelous stores untouched. But US forces apparently made no plans for defending it against plunder. Kadun, and one lone guard watched as the thieves pried open the vaults, grabbing gold necklaces and precious stones. When those were gone, they fell upon the magnificent, inscribed carvings. With carts, cars, and blankets, they hauled off the treasures of seven millennia, taking with them the cultural memory of this already traumatized nation. Among the losses: two Babylonian lions, made of baked clay, a 4,000-year-old collection of tablets laying out exercises for schoolchildren, a 5,000-year-old statue of a bearded man holding a vase.

Dr. Gibson learned of the looting on Friday, when the mob had only sacked the museum's first floor, and not yet its vaults. "That's as if somebody had gotten into the Metropolitan [Museum in New York] and taken everything out of half of it," he said, his voice shaking. Sunday, with the threat of more vandalism, US forces still had not arrived to secure the museum. "It reflects badly on us as Americans," says Dr. Zimansky. "We have behaved like absolute barbarians. OK, you can blame a mob, but they looted because law and order was broken down, and we broke it down. Then we stood by and watched."

The losses are particularly galling, experts say, because unlike in Afghanistan, where looting and destruction of artifacts had been under way for decades before US forces arrived, Iraq had a long history of exquisite record-keeping and official protection, although in the past thirteen years the country saw the defiling of provincial museums and historic sites, first in the chaos after the 1991 Gulf War and then during the economic devastation of the embargo. James Armstrong, assistant curator of Harvard University's Semitic Museum, says he hopes that once order is restored in Iraq at least some of the stolen treasures can be recovered. In postwar Afghanistan, authorities set up checkpoints and caught some of the smugglers trying to take Buddhist artifacts into Pakistan. Iraqi artifacts will be more valuable to international collectors, but scholars say some stolen items are so well-known that they will be impossible to sell and could in time be returned.

Source: Christian Science Monitor

Cesar Chavez Commemorative US Postage Stamp

The Cesar E Chavez Foundation is proud to announce that Los Angeles has been selected to host the first day of issuance of the commemorative United States postage stamp honoring Cesar E Chavez on April 23rd, 2003, the 10th anniversary of the civil rights and farm labor leader's passing.

A public celebration will be held in downtown Los Angeles to mark the stamp's issuance and to honor Cesar's tireless work for justice and equality for all people through service to others. Leaders in the community, politics, labor, business, and the arts will join the Chavez Foundation, the Chavez family and the United States Postal Service for the event.

Cesar and Dr King, A Shared Bond

The Cesar E Chavez Foundation is proud to honor and support the legacy of Dr Martin Luther King, Jr, and Martin Luther King Day on Monday, January 20th. Dr King was one of our nation's brightest visionaries, who brought hope and healing to millions through his example of dignity, courage, compassion, justice, equality and nonviolence, in the face of great adversity. Like Cesar Chavez, his teachings are timeless and have left an indelible mark on the human community, forever changing the world. Dr King and Chavez held mutual admiration for each other as individuals and as leaders. During Cesar's 25 day fast in 1968, Dr King sent the following telegram in support:

I am deeply moved by your courage in fasting as your personal sacrifice for justice through nonviolence. Your past and present commitment is eloquent testimony to the constructive power of nonviolent action and the destructive impotence of violent reprisal. You stand today as a living example of the Gandhian tradition with its great force for social progress and its healing spiritual powers. My colleagues and I commend you for your bravery, salute you for your indefatigable work against poverty and injustice, and pray for your health and your continuing service as one of the outstanding men of America. The plight of your people and ours is so grave that we all desperately need the inspiring example and effective leadership you have given.

     Martin Luther King, Jr
     President, SCLC

Senator McCain Renews Effort to Honor Cesar Chavez

Washington, DC—On January 15th, Senator John McCain (R-AZ) reintroduced a bill to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a special resource study of sites associated with the life of Cesar E Chavez. The goal of the legislation is to establish a foundation for preserving these sites as historical landmarks. "Cesar Chavez is one of the most revered public servants in our history for his leadership in helping organize migrant farm workers, and for providing inspiration to those most oppressed in our society," said Senator McCain. "He is an exemplary American hero. It is important that we honor his struggle and do what we can to preserve certain sites located in Arizona, California and other states that are significant to his life….Cesar Chavez was a humble man of deep conviction who understood what it meant to serve and sacrifice for others," said Senator McCain. "He was a true American hero who embodied the values of justice and freedom this nation holds dear. Honoring the places of his life will enable his legacy to inspire and serve as an example for our future leaders."

Important Note:

The Cesar E Chavez Foundation is currently developing the Cesar E Chavez Papers and Archives Project, which will archive and record Cesar's papers, artifacts, personal effects and more. This project will capture the history of Cesar's life and work in a comprehensive manner, so that essential pieces of history are carefully preserved, protected and made available to the public. The Chavez archives have the potential to generate new areas of academic study and symposiums to further civil rights scholarship and will eventually be featured in educational materials and exhibits. The Foundation needs your help to record the breadth and depth of Cesar's life. If you have pictures of Cesar, correspondence from him, newspaper clippings or other items you would like to donate to the Foundation's archives, please forward them to:

     Chavez Foundation Archives
     c/o Cesar E Chavez Foundation
     634 South Spring Street–Suite 727
     Los Angeles, California, 90014.

With your help, we can preserve and record the history of Cesar, one of America's most prominent and loved civil rights leaders, while ensuring that his legacy continues to inspire the human spirit. The Foundation would prefer original items or copies of original items that are in good condition. Please note that all submissions to the archives are donations and that no fee will be paid.

Source: From the Cesar Chavez Foundation website

Election Results and Federal Arts Funding

With the November elections over, Republicans have retaken the majority in the Senate for 2003, claiming at least 51 seats and giving the GOP full control again of both houses of Congress. Looking ahead to the 108th Congress, which will convene in January, the prospects for federal support of the arts should not be expected to change. Support for the National Endowment for the Arts, which was rebuilt in recent years, has depended equally on champions in the Republican and Democratic ranks. In fact, it was bipartisan support in the Republican-controlled House that increased the NEA's appropriations in 2001 and 2002. The Democratic majority on the Senate Appropriations Committee weighed in this year with a lesser increase for the arts endowment than the amount passed by the House.

In 2003, much will depend on the leadership and initiative of Dana Gioia, nominated by President Bush to chair the National Endowment for the Arts. Confirmation of his nomination should move easily through the Senate shortly after the new Congress is sworn in. Any difficulty ahead for national arts advocates will be caused by fiscal, not political, issues. In October, the federal Office of Management and Budget (OMB) announced that the federal budget deficit was $159 billion in 2002. In 2001, the federal budget accumulated a surplus of $127 billion. The new budget deficit, the first since 1997, caused the OMB director to say that spending has to be controlled while "new defense and homeland security spending is needed." Facing deficits, Congress will find it harder to come up with the money it wants to invest in domestic programs. Source: National Assembly of State Arts Agencies, 11/8/02

 

JUDY BACA GETS GUGGENHEIM

Judy Baca has received a 2003 Guggenheim fellowship in the 79th annual U.S. and Canadian competition sponsored by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation. Baca, founder and artistic director of SPARC: Social and Public Art Resource Center (Animating Democracy Lab site) in Venice, California, is among 184 Fellowship winners who include artists, scholars, and scientists.

Guggenheim Fellows are selected based on distinguished achievement in the past and exceptional promise for future accomplishment. The Fellowships are offered to further the development of scholars and artists by assisting them to engage in research in any field of knowledge and creation in any of the arts. Source: www.gf.org

ASIAN PACIFIC AMERICAN PROJECT FESTIVAL
WINS IN BATTTLE FOR SOUND PERMIT
By Ramon Gil exclusively for The Asians in America Project
March 18, 2003 - New York, New York

Hundreds e-mail Parks Department in support of Festival Last night, festival site coordinator Ginny Myung received a message from New York Parks official Eric Peterson. It started with the simple phrase "You've won!"

A few weeks ago, the Coalition of Asian Pacific Americans (CAPA) received notice that their application for amplified sound at Union Square Park had been cut from 6 hours to 4 hours. This was bad news for the organization that for 23 years has been coordinating the Asian Pacific American Heritage Festival. Touted as the largest outdoor Pan Asian event in the East Coast. In past festivals, a stage was set up and about a dozen music and dance groups would perform for the crowd estimated at anywhere from 6,000 to 10,000. Each group would get about half an hour making the performance program 6 hours long, starting at noon and ending at 6. "For years, we were allowed to have amplified sound the entire duration of the festival. Both Community Board 5, and the 13th Precinct who issues our sound permit till 6:00, have never complained... I am baffled by this." Myung stated in an e-mail to the Parks department.

The four hour limit on amplified sound would have wrecked havoc on the program which had already been scheduled and the performers were already been booked. The stakes for the performance stage had gone up last year when the coordinating of the stage program had been taken over by the Asian American Arts Alliance. The Arts Alliance had been pushing for a better looking and more professional stage, better sound, and better compensation for the performers according to coordinator NaRhee Ahn. In response to the limitation, both the Arts Alliance and CAPA launched a phone and e-mail barrage aimed at the office of Bill Castro of New York City Parks and Recreation to get them to extend the time period for amplified sound, A source within the parks department had speculated that the new sound limitation was due to last month's anti-war protests that had overwhelmed Dag Hammarskjold park near the United Nations.

Among the festival supporters who made calls were the office of the Manhattan Borough President C. Virginia Fields and Bill Mulrow, who previously ran for State Comptroller. "If it is policy, it may be hard to change, because if they let you have extended hours, then other groups will want the same." worried Mulrow but a source at the governor's office stated that "There are no particular 'new' regulations." After barely a week of of e-mails and phone calls, officials at New York City Parks and Recreation decided to grant the Heritage Festival it's request of 6 hours. Peterson also asked that people please stop emailing him and calling him. The Asian Pacific American Heritage Festival and especially the performance program has become a much anticipated event in the New York metropolitan area since it's inception in 1979. Past performers have included such popular acts as Soh Daiko (Japanese Taiko drums), The George Gee Orchestra (Swing Band), Kinding Sindaw (Filipino Folk Dance) and more contemporary acts like Angela Ai, Kevin So and The Mountain Brothers.

Long-time CAPA member Chuck Lee said "We try to balance the performances of traditional cultural performances with the newer stuff to cater the new generation of Asian Pacific Americans." During a performance by political rapper Superchink, a spectator mockingly asked a festival volunteer "So tell me, what part of Asian culture is this?" Without missing a beat, the volunteer responded "It's not...it's part of Asian AMERICAN culture." The 24th Annual Asian Pacific American Heritage Festival is held on the first Sunday of May, officially designated as Asian Pacific American Heritage month. This year, it will be at Union Square Park North on May 4 from 12 noon to 6 pm. For more information, visit www.capaonline.org.
Source: Asian Pacific American web site

"LOWRIDING: AN AMERICAN CULTULRAL TRADITION

VIRTUAL EXHIBITION at the Smithsonian's Latino Virtual Gallery
"Lowriding: An American Cultural Tradition" View work by California artist: Gilbert "Magu" Lujan "Lowriding: An American Cultural Tradition" tells the story of lowriding as a unique and artistic cultural _expression. It features cars as canvas, art inspired by cars, poetry, music, and an interactive section on car mechanics. The exhibition tells the story of lowriding in Los Angeles and in New Mexico and makes reference to the wide spread phenomenon of lowriding. Aside from the dynamic images presented in the exhibition,feature include scholarly essays, a glossary, a reference section, and educational activities. http://latino.si.edu/Virtualgallery/LR/LR_intro.htm
Source: Latino Arts Network

NEW ARTS &CULTURAL POLICY DATA ARCHIVE (CPANDA)
Sponsored by The Princeton University Library and Princeton University's Center for Arts and Cultural Policy Studies: The world's first fully interactive, Web-accessible digital archive of policy-relevant data on culture and the arts. http://www.cpanda.org
Source: Latino Arts Network

RAFAEL TUFINO: PAINTER OF THE PEOPLE
OPENS AT EL MUSEO DEL BARRIO, NY.
March 14 through August 24, 2003
New York, NY (March 12, 2003) - El Museo del Barrio, New York’s premiere Latino and Latin American cultural institution, proudly presents the landmark exhibition Rafael Tufiño: Painter of the People. The retrospective features the work of one of the central figures in the history of 20th century Puerto Rican art. Rafael Tufiño, a versatile artist in many media, has been a major force in founding and furthering modern Puerto Rican art-both on the Island and in the Caribbean Diaspora. The exhibition was organized by the Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico, San Juan; and was curated by Dr. Teresa Tió, a prominent scholar of Puerto Rican art, and Director of the Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña. The comprehensive retrospective opens to the public on Thursday, March 14 and remains on view through Sunday, August 24, 2003.

This exhibition will feature more than 150 works including paintings, drawings, prints and posters, as well as a re-creation of the artist’s studio and personal memorabilia. The works on view span a period of more than 65 years from the 1940s to the present, including works from his early period influenced by Mexican realism. During the 1950s he was a member of the Generación del Cincuenta-a group of artists whose mature­­­­, extraordinarily influential work emerged during that period. The artist continues to produce artwork in this, his eightieth year, moving between New York and the Island.

Rafael Tufiño: Painter of the People is organized chronologically and celebrates the influential life’s work of the artist, maestro Tufiño. The first period (1940-1955) includes pencil drawings, watercolor sketches, and oil paintings and is marked by Tufiño’s gradually developing sense of his Puerto Rican identity as well as the influence of Mexican Realism. In later works (as early as 1958, and continuing to the present), he experiments with abstract forms and explores his strong sense of color. By the mid-1950s, Tufiño embarked on his lifelong dedication to the graphic arts, for which he would receive international acclaim. His endeavors in printmaking are well represented in the exhibition through single prints, thematic portfolios, illustrated books, and posters.
Source: El Museo del Barrio Press Release

GREAT MASTERS OF MEXICAN FOLK ART
AT HEYE CENTER SMITHSONIAN NATIONAL MUSEUM
OF AMERICAN INDIAN
Jan. 12–18, 2003 Great Masters of Mexican Folk Art from the Collection of Fomento Cultural Banamex, A.C. July 21, 2002–March 15, 2003
George Gustav Heye Center New York, New York
Featuring more than 600 masterworks from all 31 states of the Mexican Republic, this exhibition offers a comprehensive view of the most exceptional contemporary folk art of Mexico.

Nearly 200 master artists draw from their ancestral traditions, dating back more than 1000 years in some cases. The artists employ a vast array of materials, including clay, wood, straw, leather, feathers, silk, cotton, metals, and stone. This traveling exhibition is organized and sponsored by the Fomento Cultural Banamex A.C. based in Mexico City. The exhibition has been made possible by the generous support of Banamex Citigroup. Corono Extra, CONACULTA (National Council for Culture and Arts), Tequila Herradura, and Aeromexico. A catalog is available in the museum shop.
Source: Native America On-line .

Liz Lerman Dance Exchange Among "100 Best Charities in America" www.cornerstonetheater.org. www.danceexchange.org. www.worth.com In its December 2002 issue, Worth Magazine named Cornerstone Theater Company and Liz Lerman Dance Exchange (Animating Democracy Lab sites) two of the 100 Best Charities in America, based on sound financial management and the ratio of program and administrative expense. To come up with a list, the editors of Worth first interviewed hundreds of philanthropy experts for suggestions. The resulting group then provided information on their operations, programs, and services, and was winnowed down to the list of 100. Other arts organizations listed include the Lyric Opera of Chicago, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and the Alvin Ailey Dance Foundation.
Source: Studio Museum of Harlem website'03