The Museum’s Role in Amplifying and Sustaining Craft and Making

The Museum’s Role in Amplifying and Sustaining Craft and Making 

Presenter: Dr Leslee Michelsen, Curator of Collections and Exhibitions, Shangri La Museum of Islamic Art, Culture & Design (Doris Duke Foundation for Islamic Art), Honolulu HI, USA 

This conversation will focus on the ways in which museums have contributed to the development and promotion of the craft heritage sector through exhibitions, publications, and commissions, with a focus on projects undertaken by the Doris Duke Foundation and Turquoise Mountain. 

Dr Leslee Michelsen leads the team responsible for the exhibition, interpretation, research, and conservation of Shangri La’s collection of historic and contemporary arts of the Islamic world. Previously, she consulted for UNESCO Afghanistan on the curatorial content of the Bamiyan Cultural Center from 2015–16, and was the Head of the Curatorial and Research Section at the Museum of Islamic Art Doha from 2011–2015. She has worked with artists, craftspeople, museums, and archaeological projects in Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Oman, Qatar, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Zanzibar. She is the author of numerous publications including the exhibition catalogue Ferozkoh: Tradition and Continuity in Afghan Art, seven entries on Afghanistan in The Encyclopedia of Crafts in the Asia-Pacific Region (https://encyclocraftsapr.com), the entry on jali for the Encyclopaedia of Islam III (in press), and an upcoming article on the longstanding practice of commissioned crafts at Shangri La. 

This conversation will be hosted by the series organizer, Dr Fahmida Suleman, Curator, Islamic World, Royal Ontario Museum; and Dr Ulrike Al-Khamis, Interim Director and Director of Collections and Public Programs, Aga Khan Museum 

To register, visit the online registration page.

* This event is part of an eight-part monthly series entitled “Crafting Conversations: Discourses on the Craft Heritage of the Islamic World – Past, Present and Future,” and more information on the whole series and recordings of the previous conversations can be found on the website of the Institute of Islamic Studies, University of Toronto .