Thursday, February 14 2019 10:26

ArmInfo.Aurora Humanitarian Initiative continues to support the Matenadaran,  Armenia's national repository of ancient manuscripts, with a new  grant of $20,000. With these funds, the Matenadaran will commission  the preparation and design of an interactive table-map of Armenian  Scriptoria, Aurora Humanitarian Initiative's press service told  ArmInfo. 

Scriptoria, or Monastic Writing Centers, have a special significance  in the cultural life of the Armenian nation. They were the unique art  and cultural spaces where Armenian scribes and miniaturists created  and copied illuminated manuscripts.  The interactive table-map will  bring together these writing centers, creating comprehensive image of  Armenian manuscript culture. Having these centers in one place will  deepen the understanding of the geography, history, and development  of Armenian manuscript heritage in Armenia and in Armenian  communities worldwide. 

"Our collaboration with the Aurora Humanitarian Initiative is  invaluable," said Vahan Ter-Ghevondyan, director of the Matenadaran.  "This new project of the interactive table-map will be a very helpful  visual aid that presents the scriptoria for the spiritual and  cultural centers. These advanced technological solutions are the most  impactful ways of introducing this rich heritage, and its  significance to global culture," he continued.

Simply by touching the interactive map every visitor of the  Matenadaran will be able to travel deep into the history of the  development of the dozens of scriptoria. Individual multi-touch  windows will present detailed information and images of the writing  centers, as well as their brief history, geographical location, and  architectural characteristics of the complexes in which they existed.  Additional windows will provide information about manuscripts, such  as their titles, numbers and locations, scribes and miniature  artists, statistical data, and other.  

"We are delighted to continue the cooperation with the Matenadaran,  the immense depository of Armenian manuscripts. These manuscripts are  windows into the intellectual history of Armenia and the Western  world. Aurora believes in the value of presenting the Armenian past  and present within the context of global developments.  This project  does just that, going beyond preservation to easy and multi-layered  access," stated Vartan Gregorian, Co-Founder of the Aurora  Humanitarian Initiative. 

This is Aurora's fourth grant to the Matenadaran within Aurora's  Armenian Memory Act program, aimed at enhancing the preservation and  use of archives and documentation of the Armenian experience. In  2015, funds from Aurora enabled the Matenadaran to purchase a special  scanner to digitize manuscripts, making them more accessible for  researchers and the wider public. Over 4560 manuscripts and archival  documents have been digitized to date. 

The 2016 grant funded the training of ten Matenadaran guides in  Germany. By visiting various museums and cultural centers they  learned new approaches to museum management and further developed  professional skills needed for guides working in foreign languages.  The 2017 grant helped Matenadaran organize more than 50 lectures on  general topics in the humanities, as well as specific subjects  related to the Matenadaran collection, including Medieval Studies,  Manuscript Studies, historical primary sources, bibliography  formation, restoration and preservation of manuscripts, and archival  documents. A new brochure is currently being prepared for guides and  researchers working in the Matenadaran.