The Modern Art Syria Archive (MASA) is an initiative established by Atassi Foundation.
It aims to document and preserve Syrian art archives by obtaining the rights to scan and publish private collections, with a focus on documentation around modern Syrian visual art. We hope that MASA will act as a much-needed resource for both researchers and the public alike.
We provide on this website thousands of important documents that together give an understanding of Syria’s cultural history in general, and the visual arts in particular. MASA has been meticulously archived and catalogued, with assigned keywords, themes and types of document.
Records flow into two intellectual paths: one reveals the public side of art in Syria, particularly through a large number of press clippings that include writings about artists (both the archive owners themselves or their colleagues), while the second delves into the private world of each artist through their personal documents, writings and correspondence.
For us, this project represents our national connection to our country in terms of preserving our cultural heritage, but we aspire for it to be an appreciation of the status of Syrian art both within the Arab world and internationally.
