Barakat Culture Vulture
A selection of reports on the culture vulture projects we have supported and funded in the field of Islamic Art, Heritage and Culture since we were founded in 1987
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Olive Oil Empires: A new podcast with Anna Leone
Join Anna Leone for a tour through time as she explores life in North Africa from the Roman era to today. Find out how (olive) oil has been driving the world economy since antiquity, how you can tell a lot about a time period by its frying pans, and [...]
Congratulations New Grantee – Ignacio Arce
Congratulations to one of our 2022 grantees! We are thrilled to fund Dr Ignacio Arce of the Madrid School of Architecture, Spain. So what is the project? The project will thoroughly analyse architectural material from Qastal al Balqa. Excitingly, it seems to have been built from the remains of [...]
Congratulations New Grantee – British Museum
Congratulations to one of our successful 2022 grantees! We are thrilled to fund the International Training Programme (ITP) at the British Museum, London, United Kingdom. So what is the ITP? We know museums change lives. To improve museums across the world, this excellent programme teaches exciting and important skills [...]
New Podcast: Heritage is Ours with May al-Ibrashy
Join May al-Ibrashy for a conversation about her heritage conservation work in historic Cairo, revealing how the projects she works on put the community first. Find out more about the challenges and opportunities presented by complex urban environments like Cairo, the ways in which significant buildings, like the Shrine of [...]
Ask The Expert: Sami De Giosa
This month's expert is Dr Sami De Giosa. Sami is currently a visiting assistant professor at the College of Fine Arts and Design, University of Sharjah. He was previously a Research Fellow at SOAS University of London in the department of Cultures and Languages and also at the University of [...]
New Podcast: The Making of a Master Calligrapher with Bilal Badat
Join Bilal Badat, master calligrapher and scholar, for a conversation about the meaning of Islamic calligraphy. Badat explains calligraphy not just as a craft but as a means of transmitting and glorifying sacred knowledge. He shares fascinating insights on the making of calligraphers – the way in which the long [...]
Answers from the Expert: Paul Wordsworth
Paul Wordsworth is a Research Fellow at the University of Oxford specialising in the archaeology of the medieval Caucasus and Central Asia, with a particular interest on the northeastern fringes of the early Islamic world. He is currently directing two archaeological projects: one explores the landscape of a provincial Abbasid [...]
Ask the Expert: Melanie Gibson
Dr Melanie Gibson is the Senior Editor of the Gingko Library Art Series and convenor for the Postgraduate Diploma in Asian Art at SOAS, University of London. Her research focuses on the ceramics and glass of the Islamic world and in the reception and use of Islamic pattern in 19th [...]
New Podcast: The Jewel of Damascus with Alain George
Alain George shares research from his most recent book on the Great Mosque of Damascus, an incredible building in Syria that is a living testament to community relations between Pagans, Christians and Muslims during the formative years of Islam. Alain Fouad George is I.M. Pei Professor of Islamic Art and [...]