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Conflict not only devastates cities, homes, and lives but also erases cultural heritage. According to The Guardian, the Louvre Museum in Paris has proposed safeguarding artworks recovered from nations torn by war, housing them in a new conservation and storage facility in northern France.
French President François Hollande revealed the plan earlier this week during a ceremony marking the Louvre’s new facility in Liévin, France, set to open in 2019. “The primary purpose of the Liévin site is to store the Louvre Museum’s collections," The Guardian reported Hollande stating, "... but it could also serve another purpose, unfortunately tied to the crises and tragedies we witness globally.” Hollande was referring to the recent devastation of cultural and UNESCO World Heritage sites in Syria and Iraq by extremist groups such as The Islamic State (ISIS).
Hollande deliberately chose to unveil the plaque during his visit to the Louvre-Lens, a regional extension of the Louvre in Pas-de-Calais. He was present to inaugurate a new exhibition, "History Begins in Mesopotamia," which will be on display until January 2017. “This exhibition is not coincidental,” Hollande remarked (as cited in The Art Newspaper). “We planned it at a time when heritage in Iraq and Syria faces grave threats.”
Hollande intends to formally announce The Louvre’s initiative to safeguard cultural heritage at an international conference led by France, focusing on the impact of terrorism on culture. The event, scheduled for December at the new Louvre Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates, will bring together delegates from approximately 40 nations to explore strategies for combating the illegal trade of antiquities, commemorating devastated sites, and recovering and preserving at-risk cultural treasures from around the world.
