#balkh-and-samangan

#balkh-and-samangan

"It doesn't matter what [story] you want to tell-maps help bring it to life, they help you connect to spaces. And it has to be interactive. You have to be able to read, to click."

After the historical Iranian city of Isfahan was targeted by several major strikes, its governor Mehdi Jamalinejad claimed that serious damage had been inflicted even after blue shields were put on the roofs of culturally important buildings. This is an internationally recognized signal under the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict.

The most serious confirmed damage to date has been to Tehran's Golestan palace, dating back to the 14th century, and the 17th-century Chehel Sotoon palace in Isfahan. Judging from videos and public statements, neither historic building was hit by a missile directly but the shock wave from nearby blasts and possibly some missile debris, shattered glass and brought down tiles and masonry.

An artwork is not created when an artist finishes it. It is created when it's visible to an audience and when it becomes discourse. If there's no ecosystem, nothing works. Central Asia is in the midst of an unprecedented investment in such art infrastructure, including new permanent venues, purpose-built museums, and international biennials.