Candlelight vigil to be held at Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art

EUGENE—(April 8, 2008)— The non-profit organization Saving Antiquities for Everyone (SAFE) in conjunction with Archaeological Legacy Institute will host a candlelight vigil at the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art on Saturday, April 12, from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. The event is part of a three-day Global Candlelight Vigil to mark the fifth anniversary of the looting of the Iraq Museum in Baghdad -- a tragedy which has been called "a crime against the heritage of mankind."

The event will include a video presentation, guest speakers and a candlelight vigil with a moment of silence. Admission is free.

"The losses to the cultural record experienced in Iraq and in many other places around the world are in fact erasing the human memory and cannot be tolerated", says Rick Pettigrew, president and executive director of Archaeological Legacy Institute. In addition to Pettigrew, several other scholars will give remarks at the event. These include Sharon Kaplan, museum educator with the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art; Jon Erlandson , director of the University of Oregon Museum of Natural and Cultural History; and Bob Hart, executive director of Lane County Historical Society and Museum. A special Charlie Rose interview with Donny George, who directed Iraqi museums at the time U.S. forces entered Baghdad, will also be shown.

The vigil aims to draw attention to the thousands of priceless artifacts still missing from the Baghdad Museum, as well as to the ongoing looting and destruction of Iraq's more than 12,000 archaeological sites, widely recognized as the cradle of civilization. Similar activities threaten the human cultural heritage in many places around the world. U.S. cities hosting similar events include Chicago, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh and New Brunswick, N.J., among others. In solidarity with this fifth anniversary remembrance, vigils are planned in cities worldwide, including London, Stockholm, and Baghdad.

The Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art is located on the University of Oregon campus at 1430 Johnson Lane. Museum hours are 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesdays and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursdays through Sundays. Admission is $5 for adults and $3 for senior citizens, high school students and non-UO college students with ID. Free admission is given to children ages 13 and under, members, and university faculty, staff and students. For more information, contact the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art, 541-346-3027.

About the University of Oregon
The University of Oregon is a world-class teaching and research institution and Oregon's flagship public university. The UO is a member of the Association of American Universities (AAU), an organization made up of 62 of the leading public and private research institutions in the United States and Canada. Membership in the AAU is by invitation only. The University of Oregon is one of only two AAU members in the Pacific Northwest.

Museum Contact: Debbie Williamson-Smith, 541-346-0942, debbiews@uoregon.edu

Archaeological Legacy Institute Contact: Richard M. Pettigrew, 541-345-5538, rick@archaeologychannel.org

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