Manuscript Collections in Egypt: Past Initiatives and Post-Revolution Challenges" Cheryl Porter

Manuscript Collections in Egypt: Past Initiatives and
   Post-Revolution Challenges"
       Cheryl Porter

Peggy Dow Helmerich Auditorium
Annie May Swift Hall
Northwestern University
Monday, June 20, 2011
3pm

Cheryl Porter will discuss her recent work in Egypt, including her
management of a Thesaurus Islamicus Foundation (TIF) project to
survey Islamic manuscripts at the National Library and Archives of
Egypt and other cultural institutions in Cairo. Ms Porter will
discuss the goals of the TIF project, the development of the survey
instrument, and provide a status update on the project. Ms Porter
will also discuss recent efforts to address conservation training
and education in Egypt, particularly in light of recent political
events.  The lecture will have broad appeal to conservators,
scholars of Islamic thought, and those interested in the current
political situation in Egypt and its effect on cultural
institutions.

The lecture will be held in the Peggy Dow Helmerich Auditorium of
the recently renovated Annie May Swift Hall, located next to the
University Library.  To learn more about the extraordinary
renovation of this historic Northwestern landmark, please visit

   http://www.communication.northwestern.edu/ams-photos/>

Reception: Guests are invited to a reception in Deering Library
immediately following the lecture. Arabic manuscripts from the
Melville Herskovits Library of African Studies
http://digital.library.northwestern.edu/arbmss/> will be on
view, and conservators from Northwestern University Library will be
available to answer questions about a survey of the manuscript
collection which is currently in progress.

Biography

   Cheryl Porter has been Director of the Montefiascone Project, an
   international program of conservation training and education
   located in Montefiascone, Italy, since its inception in 1988.
   After graduating from Camberwell College (University of the
   Arts, London), Cheryl worked at the University College London
   Paintings Analysis Unit, analyzing the use of pigments in
   paintings and manuscripts. From 1992-2006, she worked as a
   freelance conservator, mostly for universities and other
   cultural institutions. Cheryl was Manager of Conservation and
   Preservation at the Dar al-Kutub (National Library and Archives
   of Egypt) and the Thesaurus Islamicus Foundation from 2007-2010.
   She has published many articles concerning color in manuscripts
   and has lectured in the USA, UK, Canada, Australia and
   throughout Europe.

Registration is required and may be completed by sending an email to
Ann Duncan-Gibbs at a-gibbs [at] northwestern__edu or by contacting Ms
Duncan-Gibbs at 847-491-7599.