Google Arts & Culture has been established as our cultural bible. The saying "knowledge does not take up space" has never made so much sense and it is that the online platform is capable of storing infinity of disciplines, stories and curiosities . And, best of all, just a click away.
If it is characterized by something, it is knowing how to choose what to show us, that is, here known cultural issues are brought together, but also issues with which we were not yet lucky enough to be familiar. Now it's time to travel to Africa, specifically to Mali, and specifically to Timbuktu.
At a glance, it's easy to see another admirable virtue of Google Arts & Culture: its way of present the content . Forget monotonous books or tedious lessons, the web tenaciously demonstrates that culture is entertaining, fun and, above all, interesting. An example of this is its new inauguration: The Magic of Mali and the Timbuktu Scrolls.
A LEGACY IN GOOD STORAGE
For those who don't know her, Timbuktu is a city that carries culture by flag . Its creativity and heritage are palpable in its architecture, art, literature and music. However, when the Malian story comes to light, he does so almost always referring to his political turmoil, occupations or coups. You only have to look beyond the tip of the iceberg to discover that it has many more things to tell.
Mali invites us to discover its deepest culture.
Google Arts & Culture wanted, first of all, to value the defense and protection that the Malian people have dedicated their cultural legacy . Once mention has been made of their incessant struggle to preserve their heritage, they open the doors to what they have baptized as the four m's: manuscripts, music, monuments and modern art.
M FOR MANUSCRIPTS
Literature in Timbuktu has an important weight, a weight specifically of 377,000 pages . Islamic knowledge from the 14th to the 16th century was embodied in beautiful decorated folios that have managed to survive conflicts and the passage of time thanks to families. Today, what is known as the Timbuktu manuscripts are under the guardianship of SAVAMA-DCI , the guardians of it, and also collaborators in the Google project.
From astronomy to geography , going through ethics, mathematics, history or medicine, the writings of the time did not discriminate against any branch of knowledge. Google Arts & Culture not only breaks down all the subjects and tells us about their importance, but also has digitized more than 40,000 pages of the manuscripts that we can now contemplate in its original form.
Knowledge was captured in beautifully decorated sheets.
M FOR MUSIC
Music in Mali is a communication tool , a cultural symbol, a protest loudspeaker and a sign of identity. Their songs, their traditional dances, their particular instruments and their festivals say so. Now, we have access to archive images, recordings, vinyl records and stories from the Festival au Désert, Festival en Exile and Caravan for Peace.
And, along with videos that expose his musical richness, we will also find the album Maliba by Fatoumata Diawara, Malian singer Grammy nominated. Fatoumata has been one of the great responsible for put Malian art on the world music track . Each of her songs refers to different aspects of the culture of her people, thus becoming the common thread of the claim.
Musical culture has always been a Malian tradition.
M OF MONUMENTS
One of the cultural disciplines that they are most in danger in Mali are their monuments . Always in the spotlight, political conflicts have placed them in their goal of destruction. In their survival, the communities that have dedicated themselves have had a lot to do, not only to keep them standing, but to restore them after their multiple falls.
As a result, the Malian people have mosques, mausoleums and monuments worthy of admiration, with peculiar architectural styles and with discreet tributes to past events. With Google, we will know the history of its construction, but we will also be able to contemplate the Great Mosque of Djenné in 3D and the Great Mosque of Niono with Street View , without leaving home.
A look at the Great Mosque of Djenné.
M FOR MODERN ART
When it comes to talking about art, we stop looking at the past to focus on the future. Such transcendental creativity has a duty to endure, and they are achieving it the new contemporary artists of the country , emerging talents who use their knowledge of the past to create paintings and sculptures that look to a better future.
Google Arts & Culture gives us access to his works, explosions of color, abstract art and hidden messages behind the brush strokes The new generation of artists has a lot to say, but also a lot to fight for, and they do so through your best tool: creativity.
Mali opens up body and soul to the rest of the world to show us a culture that many are unaware of, but that few will forget after this first contact. Google Arts & Culture joins SAVAMA, Timbuktu Renaissance, Instruments 4 Africa Y UNESCO , to do the honors. Come and see. And read. And dance.
Mohamed Dembélé next to his works.