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Greetings!
Best wishes for the New Year! Since our last Newsletter the pace at Shangri La has quickened as we prepare outgoing loans for the traveling exhibition Beauty and Belief: Crossing Bridges with the Arts of Islamic Culture and make plans to host four scholars-in-residence, two artists-in-residence and other programs and performances on-site and in the community. These projects are accompanied by a flurry of staff activity including research and writing, conservation, packing and shipping, and updates to the website and social media.
I hope you enjoy reading about our recent work in the articles below. We look forward to seeing you at Shangri La in 2012 or at one of the venues where our outreach programs occur, including social media sites. As always, thanks for your continuing interest in and support of Shangri La.
Deborah Pope
Executive Director, Shangri La
Doris Duke Foundation for Islamic Art |
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 Loan to Beauty & Belief: Crossing Bridges with the Arts of Islamic Culture
Shangri La is one of 40 international institutions lending collections to Beauty & Belief: Crossing Bridges with the Arts of Islamic Culture, a major exhibition that opens at the Brigham Young University (BYU) Museum of Art in Provo, Utah on February 24 and then travels to the Indianapolis Museum of Art, the Newark Art Museum before closing at the Portland Museum of Art in September 2013. Fourteen of the 250 objects in the exhibition are from DDFIA collections dating from the early 10th - 19th centuries and including ceramics, glass, doors, hanging lamps, textiles and a page from a very early North African Qu'ran. Conservators completed treatments on these pieces, collections technicians prepared condition reports and Collections Manager Maja Clark coordinated with mount makers, shippers and art handlers to successfully complete the packing of eight crates that departed Shangri La on January 11 bound for Utah. Behind-the-scenes images of the crating process are featured on the web in a January post on Shangri La's blog The Door to Shangri La.
Three of the 14 objects on loan are pictured below.
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Covered Box. Northern India, 18th century
Enameled gold, gemstones
3 1/2 x 5 11/16 x 4 7/16 in. (8.9 x 14.4 x 11.3cm)
Shangri La, 44.54a-b © 2005 David Franzen . |
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Dish. Spain (Valencia, probably Manises),1450-1475. Earthenware, underglaze painted with blue and overglaze painted with luster
Diameter: 10 5/8 in. (27.0 cm)
Shangri La, 48.102 © 2008 David Franzen |
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Rachti Douzi Embroidery. Embroidered and appliqued textile, Iran, Qajar period, late 19th century. Wool with silk threads. Overall: 63 x 77 in. (160 x 195.6cm)
Shangri La, 85.80 © 2008 David Franzen |
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Cultural Programs at Shangri La
 | | Puppeteer Michael Schuster performing Journey to the East. |
Within the first few months of the New Year, Shangri La will present several programs on different aspects of Islamic art, theatre, music, history and literature. Most recently, on January 14 and 21 Shangri La presented an original multi media puppet theatre performance Journey to the East: a Modernist Rumination on a Thirteenth Century Chronicle retelling the story of Marco Polo's travels throughout the Chinese Empire ruled by Kublai Khan in the 13th century by recreating historic meetings between the Venetian merchant and the Chinese emperor. The production, accompanied by original music composed and performed by Balinese musician Made Widana, underscored both the complexity of communication and the ongoing dialogue between East and West. Journey to the East was written and performed by father and daughter puppeteers Michael and Layla Schuster. Michael Schuster, Curator of the East-West Center Gallery, has a Ph.D. in Asian Theatre with an expertise on Indian puppet theater. He is a founder of the Train Theater and the International Puppet Festival in Jerusalem. Widana is a professional musician, dancer, and composer and is the Director of the University of Hawaii Balinese gamelan ensemble Segara Madu. Journey to the East premiered at Shangri La and is scheduled to travel to other mainland and international venues.
Events to look forward to this month include:
 | | Students from the University of Hawaii performing a dance from the traditional Indonesian Randai drama The Genteel Sabai. |
February 4. Shangri La was pleased to be a sponsor of the symposium Minangkabau Culture: Islamic Influence and Matrilineal Traditions presented by the East-West Center Arts Program and UHM Department of Theatre and Dance on January 27 as part of the exhibition Minangkabau Processions of Sumatra. On February 4, Shangri La will present a Randai dance performance in coordination with the University's main stage production of The Genteel Sabai followed by a lecture discussion on Contemporary West Sumatran Minangkabau from Edy Utama. Utama is a photographer, cultural activist, community organizer, and writer based in West Sumatra. |
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February 11. Curator Keelan Overton will present an illustrated lecture Commissioning on the Move: Doris Duke's Travels and Patronage of "Living Traditions" in India, Morocco and Iran examining Duke's commissioning of custom-made architectural features for Shangri La from workshops in India, Morocco, and Iran in the mid-to-late 1930s. Overton's presentation will focus on the 1937 Morocco commission and will share new findings from fieldwork conducted in Fez, Rabat and Marrakesh in November 2011.
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Left: Moroccan master artisan with wood elements custom-made for the Foyer and Moroccan Room, c. 1937-38. Shangri La Historical Archives, Doris Duke Foundation for Islamic Art, Honolulu, Hawai'i.
Right: Preparing the mosaic tile commissions in Isfahan, Iran in 1939. Doris Duke Photograph Collection, Doris Duke Charitable Foundation Historical Archives, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University. |
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February 25. Iranian-based researcher and artist Davood Koshniyat will share a lecture on Motifs of Safavid Textiles examining the designs unique to the Safavid dynasty, generally regarded as the golden age for Persian arts and crafts. With the support of the Roshan Heritage Foundation, Koshniyat was a fellow of the Asia Pacific Leadership Program at the East-West Center and has just returned from a Fellowship in the Department of Islamic Art at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. |
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Please be mindful that reservations are required for onsite events and seating is limited. For more information about upcoming programs and reservations, see Shangri La's program page or call (808) 792-5503. |
2012 Scholars-in-Residence
Following an open competition and juried selection process, Shangri La recently announced its Scholars-in-Residence for 2012. Each will pursue research projects on the theme of "Beyond 'Decline' and Before 'Modern': Later Islamic Art, c. 1722-1940." Their work is rooted in Shangri La's collections and will contribute to an improved understanding of later Islamic art and to a blossoming field of study within Islamic art in general. The selected scholars are:
- Marcus Milwright, Associate Professor, Department of Art History, University of Victoria. Research Project: Combining Text and Artefact in the Study and Display of Syrian Art of Late 19th and Early 20th Centuries.
- Amanda Phillips, independent scholar. Research Project: Ottoman Velvets circa 1730: Demand Creativity and Improvement.
- Ulrich Marzolph, Extraordinary Professor of Islamic Studies, Georg August-University, Germany. Research Project: The Art of Illustration in Lithographed Books and Other Expressions of Qajar Art.
- Jennifer Scarce, former Curator of Middle Eastern Cultures, National Museum of Scotland. Research Project: The Role of Qajar Tilework in the Late Islamic Art and Culture of Iran.
For more details on each scholar and their research projects visit our residency page. Each scholar will present a public lecture so be sure to visit our program page frequently to view upcoming events.
A blog by our last Scholar-in-Residence of 2011, Thalia Kennedy, is now available. This blog documents Dr. Kennedy's recent fieldwork in India related to Doris Duke's commissioning of a Mughal-inspired bedroom suite in 1935. Take a look here.
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The master bathroom at Shangri La, commissioned from F.B. and C.G. Blomfield in 1935. David Franzen 1999. Doris Duke Foundation for Islamic Art, Honolulu, Hawai'i. |
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Introducing Shangri La's Museum Studies Intern
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Intern Bethany Bannister-Andrews at work in the Mughal Suite |
University of Hawaii Museum Studies intern Bethany Bannister-Andrews has been working with Shangri La's staff since January 9, gaining experience working with the Islamic art collection. Bannister-Andrews will complete a variety of tasks, including selected inventorying of collections, storage improvements, and condition reporting for loans to become more comfortable with collections standards and best practices.
When asked about her four month internship thus far, Bannister-Andrews expressed that "it's wonderful to get hands-on experience with the objects and dive into the Islamic art history. The immersion into this beautiful collection is fascinating and exciting."
It is always a pleasure opening up Shangri La for students seeking to further develop their skills and enhance their understanding of Islamic arts and cultures. |
About Us
The mission of the Doris Duke Foundation for Islamic Art (DDFIA) is to promote the study and understanding of Islamic arts and cultures. DDFIA plays a unique role in the growing dialogue among scholars, artists and the public about how to help cultivate mutual understanding.
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DDFIA, © 2002
David Franzen |
DDFIA pursues its mission in two ways:
- Through Shangri La in Honolulu, which is owned and supported by DDFIA and undertakes a range of activities as a center for learning about Islamic arts and cultures; and
- Through the Building Bridges Program, which is based in New York and awards grants to promote the use of arts and media to improve Americans' understanding of Muslim societies.
Based in New York, DDFIA is one of three operating foundations supported by the
Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. |
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