The material legacy of the ancient world is our common heritage, the identity and inspiration for all humanity. Cultural heritage has the power to unite us and is critical for achieving peace. Protecting and preserving our cultural heritage is a core value of civilized societies, including our own.
It is tragic that today there would be any contemplation or rhetorical threat of further destruction of cultural heritage, particularly when what precious little remains in the world is already suffering from wanton destruction, looting, neglect, reckless overdevelopment, and climate change. Instead, we should be celebrating its existence, working to enhance protections and strengthen our international laws, and moving toward a more textured understanding of the world’s ancient cultures and their contributions to our shared experience.
The Getty is dedicated to broadening the world’s knowledge and understanding of the vibrant and sophisticated cultural heritage of the Middle East. To that end, the J. Paul Getty Museum is currently presenting an exhibition of antiquities from Assyria, and is planning upcoming exhibitions of the ancient arts of Mesopotamia and Persia for our millions of visitors to learn from and appreciate.
In September 2019, we announced Ancient Worlds Now: A Future for the Past, an unprecedented $100 million, decade-long global initiative to promote a greater understanding of the world’s cultural heritage and its value to global society, including far-reaching education, research, and conservation efforts.
Thank you for taking a stand when so much ancient cultural heritage is under seige. I also appreciate and highly recommend the Getty Arts + Ideas podcast on cultural heritage.
Thank you for speaking out on this important issue. I hope more museums and art historians will have the courage to educate the public on the cultural ramifications of such a destruction.
I am standing with you because it’s the right side of the history.
Congratulations on your contributions!
Thank you!
Thank you for highlighting this important issue. Culture does not advance during times of war. Destroying ancient cultural sites leaves humanity without victory. We all lose as culture is destroyed and decays. Our path to elevating culture lies in understanding each other. Let us embrace the arts and cultural sites as a path to peace and a replacement of more wars that take away more than they give.
Well said Jim!
An excellent statement. Thank you.
I think there is missing an attempt to show a cultural connection between symbols in a culture, like an alphabet or or other symbols of communication and why architecture or other artifacts are possibly designed a certain way. Even if it is wrong ,a working inquiry would get the public more interested appreciating human heritage design attempts to communicate. I have been having fun seeing archaeology uncovering new symbols from rock art to early history man symbols.
Thank you for that statement. The cultural testimonies of the past are our common human heritage. It is a shame to wantonly destroy – for whatever reason – something that has been preserved for centuries or millennia.
Thank you.
Are you aware of this book presenting 5000 years of creation and destruction, caused by intolerance and greed ? https://lost-treasures-intolerance-greed.com/
By helping the general public understand the cause and consequence of the destruction of our common heritage, it seems to add to the Getty’s worthy initiative, doesn’t it?