Pamela Erskine-Loftus - Representing the Nation: Heritage, Museums, National Narratives, and Identity in the Arab Gulf States

Representing the Nation

The 1970s saw the emergence and subsequent proliferation across the Arabian Peninsula of national museums, institutions aimed at creating social cohesion and affiliation to the state within a disparate population. Representing the Nation examines the wide-ranging use of exhibitionary forms of national identity projection via consideration of their motivations, implications (current and future), possible historical backgrounds, official and unofficial meanings, and meanings for both the user/visitor and the multiple creators. Due to the importance placed on tradition, heritage and national identity across all the states of the Peninsula, and the growth of re-imagined and new museums, the book responds to the need for far greater discussion and research in these areas.

Pamela Erskine-Loftus is director of The Media Majlis at Northwestern University in Qatar, a forthcoming academic museum on journalism and media.

Victoria Penziner Hightower is an Assistant Professor at the University of North Georgia Dahlonega. She received her PhD from Florida State University in 2011 and holds two Masters degrees in history (Florida State University 2004) and Near Eastern Studies (University of Arizona 2006).

Mariam Ibrahim Al-Mulla is an art history Assistant Professor and academic coordinator in the History Programme at Qatar University, and in 2015 was a recipient of the national Education Excellence award.

Routledge Research in Museum Studies

1 Contesting Human Remains in Museum Collections

The Crisis of Cultural Authority

Tiffany Jenkins

2 Museum Gallery Interpretation and Material Culture

Edited by Juliette Fritsch

3 Representing Enslavement and Abolition in Museums

Edited by Laurajane Smith, Geoff Cubitt, Kalliopi Fouseki, and Ross Wilson

4 Exhibiting Madness in Museums

Remembering Psychiatry through Collections and Display

Edited by Catherine Coleborne and Dolly MacKinnon

5 Designing for the Museum Visitor Experience

Tiina Roppola

6 Museum Communication and Social Media

The Connected Museum

Edited by Kirsten Drotner and Kim Christian Schrder

7 Doing Museology Differently

Duncan Grewcock

8 Climate Change and Museum Futures

Edited by Fiona R. Cameron and Brett Neilson

9 Animals and Hunters in the Late Middle Ages

Evidence from the BnF MS fr. 616 of the Livre de chasse by Gaston Fbus

Hannele Klemettil

10 Museums, Heritage and Indigenous Voice

Decolonising Engagement

Bryony Onciul

11 Introducing Peace Museums

Joyce Apsel

Representing the Nation

Heritage, museums, national narratives
and identity in the Arab Gulf States

Edited by Pamela Erskine-Loftus,
Victoria Penziner Hightower and
Mariam Ibrahim Al-Mulla

First published 2016
by Routledge
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and by Routledge
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Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business

2016 Pamela Erskine-Loftus, Victoria Penziner Hightower and Mariam Ibrahim Al-Mulla

The right of the editors to be identified as the authors of the editorial material, and of the authors for their individual chapters, has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.

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ISBN: 978-1-138-91357-8 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-315-69135-0 (ebk)

Typeset in Sabon
by Swales & Willis Ltd, Exeter, Devon, UK

Manal Alghannam is an Islamic art curator leading the Islamic Civilization Gallery at the King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture, a Saudi Aramco initiative. Manal holds an MA in Islamic Art and Architecture (American University in Cairo, Egypt), and a BSc in Interior Architecture (King Faisal University in Saudi Arabia). Current projects include the Beauty & Identity inauguration exhibition, in partnership with the Los Angeles County Museum of Art in California; the development of the Islamic Civilization Gallery strategy and acquisition plan; and leading research on Islamic art concepts for the development of upcoming exhibitions, collaborations with international institutions and development of the Islamic art collections at the Center.

Norah Alkhamis is an independent researcher specializing in heritage festivals and museums in the GCC. Norah holds a BA in Architecture (Kingston University) and an MA in International Architectural Regeneration and Development (Oxford Brookes University), where her research focused on Jeddahs old historic centre. She has worked in museum research and content management, public programming for heritage festivals, in archiving for the World Monuments Fund, and has liaised between Middle Eastern exhibition sponsors and British cultural institutions. Norah holds a position in the strategy planning office of Abu Dhabi Tourism and Cultural Authority, UAE, and is a member of the Saudi Council of Engineers Womens Engineers Committee, focused on tangible heritage in the built environment.

Ali A. Alraouf is an architect and urban planner interested in research and practice related to architectural and urban planning. He has held permanent and visiting teaching and research positions at regional and international universities, and has delivered lectures and presentations in over 25 countries. He has published extensively, including refereed journal papers, critical reviews and essays, in addition to books and book chapters, and serves on editorial boards and as a reviewer for international journals and conferences. He is the recipient of a number of awards and was selected as member of the 2012 Excel campaign at Qatar University. He is currently the head of the capacity building, research and development unit at QNMP at the Ministry of Urban Planning, Doha, Qatar.

Marwan Basmaji is an architect and co-founder of Basmaji & Bielinska Architects (BBA). After his studies in Lebanon, Marwan was awarded the Japanese Government Scholarship to continue his doctoral studies at Tadao Ando Academic Studio in Japan, with a focus on context and architecture. Since his graduation in 2008 with a PhD in Architecture (University of Tokyo), he has divided his time between clients commissions, participation in international competitions and academic activities. BBAs commissions for the Ministry of Culture in Bahrain include permanent museum exhibits (Bahrain National Museum, Bu Maher Fort Visitors Center), urban regeneration (Aali Pottery village), land art installations (petrol pipes phosphoric paint, wind turbines), and archaeological site visitors centres (Tree of Life, Pearling Pathway and Barbar Temples).