SUNDAY, MAY 30, 2010: IT IS WITH GREAT SADNESS THAT WE ANNOUNCE THE PASSING OF THE FOUNDER AND DIRECTOR OF THE KURDISH LIBRARY AND MUSEUM, DR. VERA BEAUDIN SAEEDPOUR.
WE WANT TO THANK THE MANY COLLEAGUES AND FRIENDS WHO SENT THEIR CONDOLENSCES AND REMEMBRANCES OF OUR EXTRAORDINARY MOTHER.
THE FAMILY OF DR. SAEEDPOUR
Beginnings
In 1981 the first Kurdish Program in the United States was established in New York City by Vera Beaudin Saeedpour, widow of Homayoun Saeedpour, a Kurd from Sanandaj in Iran, with the aim of informing Americans of the existence and plight of his people, the fourth largest ethnic group in the Middle East. Initially operating under the aegis of Cultural Survival Inc., the Program subsequently established the Kurdish Heritage Foundation of America solely to support the Kurdish Library and Museum.
THE KURDISH LIBRARY, Est. 1986
Five years later the first Kurdish Library in the Western Hemisphere was opened in Brooklyn, New York. A research institution, the library houses some 2,000 volumes in a variety of languages as well as periodicals, reports, clip files and the like. Beginning in 1986, the library has published a journal. Initially titled "Kurdish Times" (through Volume 4) "The International Journal of Kurdish Studies" features scholarly articles on Kurdish history, culture and contemporary affairs. In 1991 the library initiated publication of "Kurdish Life," a documented chronicle and analysis of contemporary events and issues. Both publications are indexed by Index Islamicus at Cambridge University in England. Special collections include publications 19th century maps, posters, newspapers from the 1948 Kurdish Republic of Mahabad, a gift of the late Archibald Roosevelt, Jr. and rare documents as well. For those unable to visit, the library provides a telephone reference service.
Library hours are temporarily suspended. Please check back to this page for updates.
THE KURDISH MUSEUM, Est. 1988
Established in 1988 on the library premises, the Museum is the only institution of its kind in the West, housing costume, weavings and crafts, as well as an extensive collection of maps, slides, photographs, cassettes and videos. Two exhibits are mounted annually. Past exhibits include: The Kurds: An Endangered People, The Jews of Kurdistan, Kurdish Poster Art, Color Me Kurdish: an exhibition of Kurdish Crafts, and the Legacy of Saladin, among others. Currently on exhibit, Silver Sounds, a collection of Kurdish village jewelry. Special collections include Iraqi Kurdish costumes donated by Hero Talabani; photographs taken in Iraqi Kurdistan by New York Times correspondent Dana Adams Schmidt in 1963; slides of people and places from the period donated by Ismet Cherif Vanly; and Kurdish crafts donated by anthropologist Ralph Solecki.
Museum hours are temporarily suspended. Please check back to this page for updates.
