Art and Music Histories Colloquium: Protecting Culture in Conflict: The Smithsonian Cultural Rescue Initiative

The Department of Art and Music Histories in the College of Arts and Sciences welcomes Cori Wegener, Director, Smithsonian Cultural Rescue Initiative for a virtual talk.

The Smithsonian has always been dedicated to preservation of cultural heritage around the world. This mission took on a new urgency after the 2010 Haiti earthquake when Cori Wegener teamed up with Smithsonian staff and other partners to deploy a cultural heritage disaster response team that evolved into the Cultural Rescue Initiative. Since then the team has deployed worldwide on numerous training, equipping, and rescue efforts in response to both natural and manmade disasters. Wegener will describe her journey from curator to defender of cultural heritage in places like Iraq, Syria, and Mali and the Smithsonian’s recent efforts to train the next generation of U.S. Army Monuments Officers.