Afghan Hidden Treasures

Pairing Current Afghan “Treasures”
with Gems from the Past

In 2008 — for the first time ever — the United States exhibited Afghanistan’s re-discovered ancient archaeological treasures dating back to 4,000 years in a 17-month nationwide tour, called Afghanistan: Hidden Treasures from the National Museum, Kabul.

Our team provided consultation, translation and design services for a 300-page book about the hidden treasures; the pieces were excavated and discovered by National Geographic. The book served as an official companion literature for the exhibition shown across major galleries across the United States — including the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C.

The curator and the “architect” behind this project, Dr. Frederik Hiebert, from the National Geographic Society, collaborated directly with our team.  Our team translated this iconic book into Farsi/Dari and Pashtu — the two main languages spoken in Afghanistan.

Additionally, the National Gallery hired our partner TriVision to provide publicity and promotion for the exhibition. TriVision created an exhibition theme that connected past and present Afghanistan treasures — a nod to the archaeological finds and the National Geographic’s book, “Children’s Songs from Afghanistan” by Louise Pascale. The songbook, also designed and compiled by TriVision, was available at the exhibition.

Both the exhibition and the publication of the “Afghanistan Hidden Treasures” was a huge success for the National Gallery of Art and the National Geographic Society.  Thousands of visitors viewed the collections and learned more about Afghanistan’s magnificent history.