Artists Emna Zghal and Michael Rakowitz will initiate a series of public craft workshops, led by American Indian master-craftspeople, to reproduce ancient artifacts and modern and contemporary artworks lost, stolen, or destroyed in the aftermath of the 2003 American invasion and subsequent occupation of Iraq. Dark Turquoise activities are scheduled to begin in fall 2008. The workshops are to be held in American Indian and Arab- and Muslim-American community spaces, and members will learn about American crafts, the history of their development and preservation, and the recent obliteration of so much Iraqi cultural heritage. In April of 2003, Iraq’s National Museum was ransacked and many other institutions, including the National Library and Archive, Maktabat al-Awqaf (the Bureau of Endowments), Al-Majma' al-'Ilmi al-'Iraqi (the Iraqi Academy of Sciences), and Dar al-Makhtutat¬¬ (the Library of Manuscripts) were burned. Dar Saddam Lil Funun (the Museum of Modern Art) and a number of other Baghdad and regional museum and libraries were also looted and damaged. The destruction of Iraq’s libraries and art institutions has been compounded by the massive migration or assassination of the country’s teachers, artists, and intellectuals. Dark Turquoise propose to address the impact of the cultural destruction of Iraq for its people, by asking citizens of the United States to share their understanding of cultural dominance, erasure, and genocide, as well as strategies of resistance. Workshops will provide the setting where stories of loss and resistance are shared and American Indian crafting techniques are passed on. The project will culminate in an exhibition in April 2010 of the artifacts made in these public workshops, tracing their provenance from the lost piece of Iraqi cultural heritage, to the American Indian technique and material employed, to the diverse participant-makers. Dark Turquoise refers to the gem frequently used in American Indian jewelry and the dark blue Lapis Lazuli used in ancient Iraqi artifacts. Timeline: The goal of the Dark Turquoise is to conduct at least 15 workshops between fall 2009 and spring 2010.