Sharareh Farokhnia

Biography

Sharareh Farokhnia is an archaeologist and museum professional with over two decades of experience in artifact evaluation, provenance research, and collection management. She currently serves as Head of Documentation and Museum Collections Database at the Iranian Center for Museum Affairs, Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts (MCHT).

Sharareh’s work focuses on developing academic standards for museum documentation, digitization of collections, and ethical acquisition practices. Sharareh has also been an active member of the National Acquisition Committee, contributing to the authentication and assessment of cultural objects across Iran’s museums.

Sharareh’s research and professional interests bridge archaeology and museology.

In 2023, Sharareh completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Goethe University Frankfurt. Her Postdoctoral Research Project was: A New Tale to the Grey Ware Culture on the Iranian Platea, connected with the DFG project. She published a few papers regarding her project. Alongside her academic and curatorial roles, she continues to deliver training programmes in the field of museum documentation, collection management and cultural heritage protection for museum professionals in Iran.

At the British Museum
During her time on the International Training Programme in 2014, Sharareh was based in the Department of Coins and Medals and her partner placement was spent at Birmingham Museums Trust.

In 2015 each participant was asked to plan and propose a temporary exhibition based on the physical space and concept of the Asahi Shimbun Displays in Room 3 at the British Museum. Sharareh’s exhibition project proposal was entitled The Iranian Lion and Sun: a symbol of identity and eternity.

Sharareh’s place on the International Training Programme was generously supported by the Altajir Trust.

Legacy Projects
In May 2017 Sharareh returned to the British Museum to attend the ITP+ Course on temporary exhibitions & permanent displays with fellows from China, India, Kenya, Nigeria, Pakistan and Turkey over different ITP years.

ITP Newsletter Publications
ITP Newsletter Issue 5 (2018), Bulletin Board