Iraq’s Mosul Cultural Museum has unveiled its restoration project and announced a new exhibition, ‘From Destruction to Rehabilitation’.
Established in 1952, the Mosul Cultural Museum is the second largest in the country after the Iraq Museum in Baghdad. It was designed by Iraqi architect Mohamed Makiya.
Following Mosul’s capture by the Islamic State (IS) in 2014, the museum was damaged, and its artefacts looted and destroyed. During the attack, more than 28,000 books and rare manuscripts were burned.
The museum is being restored through an international partnership led by the Iraqi State Board of Antiquities and Heritage, which manages Iraq’s national heritage sites and museums.
Cultural vandalism by IS militants
The institution is working with the Louvre, the Smithsonian and the World Monuments Fund, with funding from the International Alliance for the Protection of Heritage in Conflict Areas.
These partners have been stabilising the building and restoring the museum’s collections, with the World Monuments Fund overseeing the architectural conservation project.
The Smithsonian is focusing on museum management and the visitor experience, while the Louvre is collaborating with the museum’s staff to conserve and reconstruct several sculptures and objects.
The restored museum will also display many artefacts saved from destruction when they were moved to the Iraq Museum before the start of the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
Rebuilding the iconic museum
As for the building itself, alterations made to protect it from conflict damage, including reinforcements to the main façade, will be undone. The garden is being revived by landscape architect Jala Makhzoumi.
During the IS attack, a large crater in the floor of the central Assyrian gallery was created when a bomb was detonated. The damage will be retained and visible when the floor is reenforced.
Additionally, the Mosul Cultural Museum is opening an exhibition titled ‘From Destruction to Rehabilitation’ in its former home, the Royal Hall, on 12 May.
On view through 1 June, the exhibition showcases the vision for the museum’s future and was curated by the Mosul Cultural Museum’s director Zaid Ghazi Saadallah alongside the Louvre.
The exhibition is also available online.
