Arline J. Lederman photographs of traditional textiles and artisans of Afghanistan
place: label: Place
content: Afghanistan
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: The collection was donated to the National Anthropological Archives by Arline J. Lederman.
setName: label: See more items in
content: Arline J. Lederman photographs of traditional textiles and artisans of Afghanistan
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: Arline J. Lederman is an educator, gallery director, collector, philanthropist, artist, civic activist, and UN Civic Society representative. She specializes in Central Asian traditional arts, with much of her research dealing specifically with Afghanistan's artistic and visual culture.

 Born in Queens, New York on May 29, 1937, Arline Joan Lederman attended public school in Queens and later went on to pursue her academic studies at New York University. She received a B.A. Degree in 1958, an M.A. in Art Education in 1969 and a Ph.D. in 1989 where her thesis dealt with the traditional arts of Afghanistan. 

After teaching social studies at a New York City high school, she lived and worked in Afghanistan in the 60's and 70's, where she developed and taught an Art History course at Kabul University and advised the Ministry of Culture on the training and preservation of traditional crafts.

From 1971-1973, she develope detailed financial and architectural plans for the preservation of a historic bazaar in Kabul that would serve as a craft center, training center, and tourist attraction which later became the basis for a renovation by the Turquoise Foundation. She obtained a grant from the Asia Foundation to fund architects and engineers associated with the Faculty of Engineering at Kabul University to complete the project which was known as the Char Chatta Bazaar project. It was also endorsed by the Afghan government. Lederman was authorized by the Afghan government to discuss the proposal with UNESCO in Paris, where it was endorsed. The project was also incorporated by the city government of Kabul into its development plans. 

In 1978 Lederman traveled in Afghanistan as a Fulbright Scholar photo documenting textiles and their makers. During the research she travelled difficult terrain and visited remote villages and nomadic encampments throughout the country. While there, a Soviet sponsored military coup toppled the existing government and installed a puppet regime in Kabul. Lederman was able to finish her research, though witnessing what evolved into the invasion by the Red Army into Afghanistan in 1979. Upon return to the United States, Lederman became one of five founders of the Afghanistan Relief Committee (1980-1994), an organization that helped to gain support and provide for the needs of Afghan people.

Lederman served as a professor of art for more than 25 years at a number of institutions including Montclair State University and the Fashion Institute of Technology. She has written and spoken frequently on the arts and political history of Afghanistan, as well as been an activist for feminist causes.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 4,025 Photographic slides (35mm, 5 document boxes)
label: Extent
content: 2 Documents (Thesis and Fulbright research report. , 1 document box )
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1965-1982
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: National Anthropological Archives
identifier: label: Identifier
content: NAA.2019-03
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Photographic slides
label: Type
content: Documents
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: Original order was retained
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: Photographs of Afghani traditional crafts including textiles, shoes, jewelery, and other art; weavers and craftspeople; Afghani people in towns, villages, and Bedouin camps; and camels with decorative blankets and harnesses. Also included is a copy of Lederman's dissertation and Fulbright-Hays Fellowship report.