Replica – Relic
A presentation by Dania Shihab (Artist)

Without consent from the British Museum, artist Dania Shihab surreptitiously took 3D scans of several Mesopotamian artifacts—items “acquired” from her homeland of southern Iraq. These scans became the blueprints for a series of reconstructed sculptures, enhanced with interactive sensors that allow her to reanimate the sonic memories embedded within each object. Composing with an ancient musical tuning system that was documented on cuneiform tablets, she imagines a soundscape of southern Iraq unadulterated by colonial interference. In this lecture, Shihab will outline her process for researching, fabricating, and activating these objects as an alternative approach to repatriation and how her work fits into a larger set of questions around decolonization and stewardship.

December 3, 2025 at 6pm

38 West 86th Street, BGC Lecture Hall