DOCUMENTATION OF ARTS AND CULTURE



Arts and Culture documentation seeks to capture and preserve the intangible cultural heritage of societies and communities with audio and video recordings. The goal is to preserve these practices and to make them a focus of study, as a way of valuing people around the world who rightly want to see their unique expressions and identities recognized and valued as part of the human record.



OUR FOCUS AREAS



ORAL TRADITIONS



Oral traditions are those spoken elements of culture that are present in a given community. They are means of transmitting knowledge and cultural values and represent a community’s collective memory. This includes everything from epic songs to nursery rhymes, and from legends and tales to proverbs and riddles.



PERFORMING ARTS



Performing arts fill many different roles in cultures, but vocal and instrumental music, dance, and theatre are present in many cultures, whether used in celebrating weddings, observing funerals, working at daily tasks, or enjoying entertainment.


RASIT’s fellow members specialized in Arts and Ethnomusicology focus on this domain, seeking to study and use these arts in modern community development. The role of documentation in this domain is to preserve primary digital recordings of such artistic forms.



SOCIAL PRACTICES, RITUALS, AND FESTIVE EVENTS



These events are habitual activities—whether public or private—marking the passage of time, the seasons, or important events in a person’s life. They are an important part of the shared structure and identity of a community. Examples might include coming of age ceremonies, along with courtship and wedding customs.



TRADITIONAL CRAFTS



Knowledge and skills to produce traditional crafts Documentation is concerned not with preserving the physical craft objects of a people, but rather with preserving the knowledge and skills necessary to create them and promoting the continuation of these arts. For example, culture documentation would produce audio and video recordings teaching the materials and procedures for producing artefacts of material culture such as clothing, baskets, bowls, or carvings.



PHOTOSHOOT AS YOU WALK



The contemporary world and globalization had an impact on the loss of culture and arts of many societies. Several historical places, for example, were destroyed either by war or by replacing them with new commercial buildings. Started by RASIT’s Executive Director HRH Princess Dr. Nisreen El-Hashemite in 2005,The Photoshoot as You Walk Campaign aims to document history through photography. Photography Documentation provides a straightforward and accurate representation of people, places, objects and events. Photos and detailed descriptions of the place and its people are preserved in electronic forms, and available for historians and researchers.



IRAQI MUSIC WEEK



IMPACT STORY FROM OUR JOURNEY



Iraqi performing art is one of the richest art heritages in world and refers to all works of music, poetry, and singing originating from the geographical region of what is present-day Iraq since ancient Mesopotamian periods. For centuries, Baghdad was the center of the literary and artistic Arab world. The performing arts of Iraq encompass the culture of several ethnic groups and musical genres. In the 20th century, the Iraqi performing art witnessed unique style of evolving, which combined both tradition and modern techniques, producing many notable poets, musicians, singers and groups who have earned international recognition.


The position of music in Iraqi culture was badly distorted after the 2003 American-led invasion, which silenced many voices or stunted their presence.


To preserve one of the world’s ancient performing arts, RASIT worked closely with the renowned Iraqi musician and composer Ahmad Mukhtar, and the University of London School of Oriental and African Studies and the Lebanese National Conservatoire. The Iraqi Music week involved documenting the methods, instruments, music, and songs of all ethnic groups. It further included workshops and performing concerts.



Royal Academy of Science International Trust



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