The Dr. Anamika Ray Memorial Trust (ARMT) has been hosting the Modern Endangered Archival Project collaborating with the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) since 2021. In Phase I, the project developed an inventory of 15,000 photographs taken by renowned photographer Ahmed Hossain, documenting the rich cultural heritage of Northeast India over six decades. Co-led by Dr. Aparna Sharma and Prof. Ankuran Dutta, Phase I concluded in 2022. Currently in Phase II, the initiative focuses on digitizing and preserving Hossain’s ethnographic photographs to safeguard the unique traditions, customs, and lifestyles of Northeast India for academic study and research. By generating metadata and creating a comprehensive digital repository, the project aims to document the region’s anthropology and cultural heritage in a globally accessible manner, aligning with ARMT’s mission to celebrate and protect the diversity of Northeast India. The Phase II team includes Dr. Aparna Sharma as Principal Investigator, along with Dr. Anupa Lahkar Goswami, Dr. Moushumi Bhattacharjee, and Subhamoy Bhattacharjee as Project Associates from ARMT. For detail about the project, read HERE.
"As the Trust operates with the ideology of serving various ethnic groups or the marginalized communities of the region in whatever manner and the means it is capable of, the digitization of visual history as captured by Ahmad Hossain holds a lot of significance in the documentation of the socio-cultural life of the people of North East India."
- RAJAT BARAN MAHANTA, CHAIRPERSON, ARMT
Read ARMT Publication "Lens Lores" on the Inventory of the project HERE.
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