Tuesday, October 11, 2022
Location: American Center of Research, Amman, Jordan
Time: 6:30–7:30 p.m. GMT+3 (Amman)
11:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m. EDT
Open to the public—reception to follow.
We are delighted to invite you to our upcoming lecture, which is open to the public and will be live-streamed online. Visit the link below to attend the lecture on Zoom.
The Jordan Museum is Jordan’s national museum that aims to preserve and present the country’s rich cultural heritage. Sitting at a cultural and historical crossroads, Jordan has been a source of innovative thinking and new technologies for thousands of years. As Jordan’s tourism gateway, the museum is a learning center that shares knowledge in engaging ways. This knowledge is kept current through ongoing research in all areas of the museum, from gallery exhibitions to conservation, education programs, and events.
The museum tells the story of innovation through 1.5 million years of Jordanian history and archaeology. The current exhibition narrates Jordan’s story from the Paleolithic (Old Stone Age) up to recent times through several chronological and thematic exhibits.
The chronological sequence of historic events is equipped to communicate the story of Jordan through nine main themes: environment, food, art, cultural interaction, politics, industry, communication, and day-to-day life throughout time. Along with the chronological flow of the panels, displays are placed to empower the story told by presenting specific subjects related to their time period. Moreover, important jewels of Jordanian art have their special aesthetic displays, such as the 9,700-year-old ʿAin Ghazal statues—the most ancient human statues in the world—and the famous Dead Sea Scrolls, among others.
In this lecture, Ihab Amarin will argue that instead of treating the displays as “objets d’art,” we should focus on the original contexts, usages, functions of the artifacts, and the story of innovation behind them. He will delve into the museum’s governance structure that reflects the value of partnerships, which enables the museum to operate according to its vision and mission. Ihab will also explore the ways in which the museum has been carrying on its role of national storyteller of Jordan as an educational and cultural preservation center, and the role of its dedicated and qualified staff, who are the major cornerstone of the museum.
About the speaker:
Ihab Amarin is the director general of the Jordan Museum and chair of the Jordanian Museums Association (JMA). He is also a member of the National Committee for the Protection of Urban and Architectural Heritage and a part-time lecturer at several Jordanian and regional universities and scientific centers in the fields of architectural preservation, planning, design, and rehabilitation of heritage sites and museums. Amarin is also the vice chair of the National Committee of the International Council of Museums. Previously, he led national infrastructure development projects for several Jordanian cities and historical sites during his work in the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, where he was leading the national efforts to develop Jordan’s tourism product. Amarin also participated in the development of the legislative and institutional structure of the tourism sector of Jordan and thePetra Tourism Development Region Authority. He holds a master’s degree in urban planning with a focus on the preservation of historic urban issues.
