1. MIT PROGRAM IN ART, CULTURE AND TECHNOLOGY ANNOUNCES
FIVE GUIDED ARTIST TOURS OF THE MEMORY MATRIX
A MONUMENT TO FUTURE HERITAGE CELEBRATING
A CENTURY OF MIT IN CAMBRIDGE
The Memory Matrix by the artist Azra Aksamija is on display at MIT, April 23 – May 7, 2016
http://memorymatrix.org/
The MIT Program in Art, Culture and Technology announces five guided artist
tours of the Memory Matrix: A Monument to Future Heritage
Celebrating a Century of MIT in Cambridge, MA
Created as part of the centennial celebration of MIT’s move across the Charles River,
the Memory Matrix aims to promote peaceful co-existence by validating global cultural heritage
through art, digital fabrication, and transcultural exchanges

2. Cambridge, MA (May 2, 2016) – In conjunction with the centennial celebration of MIT’s move from Boston to
Cambridge – running from Apr 23 to May 7 - the MIT Program in Art, Culture and Technology (ACT) is hosting five
guided tours of the Memory Matrix project led by the artist and ACT Assistant Professor Azra Aksamija and
invites the public to participate. Created through collaborative and transdisciplinary efforts, this public space
installation explores how art and cultural heritage can play a role in promoting greater sensitivity to loss in other
countries. At this very moment, our history is being rewritten through the destruction and looting of cultural heritage in
Syria, Iraq, Yemen and other regions that are currently suffering acute conflict and crisis. Culture has become a central
target of war and conflict because cultural heritage is often powerful evidence of our (co)existence. With this monument-
in-the-making, Aksamija and her collaborators are exploring how communities threatened by war can document their
material and immaterial heritage as indestructible evidence.
The monument itself is made of border fences carrying over 20,000 small fluorescent Plexiglas elements or “pixels.”
These elements are laser cut with holes outlining vanished and threatened heritage from different parts of the world.
Each pixel also bears a code that is linked to the project website and databank. The larger matrix of pixels reveals an
image of the recently destroyed Arch of Triumph from the ancient city of Palmyra (Syria), made visible through the
movement of light and wind. Palmyra is one of the most important cultural centers of the ancient world and was listed as
UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The Memory Matrix’s collaborative making process, which involves students from across the campus and beyond,
directly references MIT founder William Barton Roger’s vision of hands-on collaboration. It is also inspired by the ethos
and tireless peace advocacy of MIT’s 13th President Jeremy Wiesner, after whom the building E15 is named. More than
an art installation, the Memory Matrix is a solidarity-building and educational enterprise, and an attempt to seed support
for Syrian refugees.
The project was conceived by ACT Assistant Professor Azra Aksamija and is co-developed and produced with the
help of a diverse range of partners within the MIT community and participants from the Maker Faire in Cairo and
Syrian refugee camps in Jordan.
For more information about the project, visit:
http://memorymatrix.org/
http://act.mit.edu/projects-and-events/events/projects/memory-matrix/
Connect with The MIT Program in Art, Culture and Technology on Facebook I Twitter I Instagram for the latest news,
updates, photos and more. Join the conversation by mentioning @MemoryMatrix and using the #MemoryMatrix hashtag.
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ABOUT AZRA AKSAMIJA
Azra Akšamija is an artist and architectural historian, an Assistant Professor of the Arts at MIT's Art, Culture and
Technology Program. Her recent academic research focuses on the representation of Islam in the West, architecture and
conflict in the Balkans since the 1990s, and the agency of cultural memory in societies affected by conflict and
crisis. Her recent book, Mosque Manifesto, published 2015 by Revolver Publishing, offers a repertoire of ways in which
creative forms of Islamic representation may foster better understanding between cultures, and generate a critical
response to cultural stereotypes and politics of representation. Akšamija holds master degrees from the Technical
University Graz and Princeton University, and a Ph.D. in History of Islamic art and architecture from MIT. Her work has
been shown in leading international venues including the Generali Foundation Vienna, Valencia Biennial, Liverpool
Biennial, Museum of Contemporary Art Zagreb, Sculpture Center New York, Secession Vienna, Manifesta 7, the Royal

3. Academy of Arts London, Queens Museum in New York, and the Fondazione Giorgio Cini as a part of the 54th Art
Biennale in Venice. She received the Aga Khan Award for Architecture in 2013 for her design of the prayer space in the
Islamic Cemetery Altach, Austria. For more information about her work see: http://www.azraaksamija.net/
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TEAM CREDITS
The project was conceived by ACT Assistant Professor Azra Aksamija and is co-developed and produced with the help
of a diverse range of partners within the MIT community and participants from the Maker Faire in Cairo and Syrian
refugee camps in Jordan. For the full list of team members and credits see:
http://act.mit.edu/projects-and-events/events/public-programs/memory-matrix-project-team/
____________________________________________________________________________________
FUNDERS AND SUPPORTERS
Memory Matrix is produced with support from a number of different departments and entities: Office of the Dean from
SA+P, Office of the Dean SHASS, ACT Program, Center for International Studies, Arts Initiatives of SA+P, Center for
Advanced Urbanism, CAMIT, MIT Libraries, Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture, Global Studies and Languages,
Comparative Media Studies / Writing, Literature Section, Office of the Dean for Student Life, Program in Science,
Technology and Society, Women's and Gender Studies at MIT and numerous individuals who supported the project
through MIT Crowdfunding. Construction sponsorship by: LeMessurier and D.C. Beane and Associates Construction
Company. Other forms of support are provided by: Department of Architecture, Aga Khan Documentation Center at MIT,
MIT Alumni Association and MISTI.
Contact:
Azra Aksamija
azra@mit.edu
Tel. (617) 755-4087