DALLAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Dallas Museum of Art (DMA) today announced that Kosmos Energy has been named the Presenting Sponsor of the Keir Collection of Islamic Art for its inaugural years of exhibitions and installations. The partnership between the Museum and the Dallas-based international oil and gas exploration and production company will provide $800,000 of support for the Museum’s forthcoming series of special exhibitions, installations in its collection galleries, and a prospective touring exhibition over an initial multi-year period. The sponsorship also includes resources to facilitate loans of items from the Keir Collection to other domestic and international institutions for related exhibitions and installations.
Kosmos Energy chose the DMA for its first cultural sponsorship due to a shared vision of building cross-cultural understanding. The partnership is an extension of the corporation’s ongoing efforts to engage with the communities in which it operates, and foster appreciation for the art and culture of these communities.
Assembled over the course of five decades by the noted art collector Edmund de Unger (1918–2011), the Keir Collection is recognized by scholars as one of the world’s most geographically and historically comprehensive, encompassing almost 2,000 works in a range of media that span 13 centuries of Islamic art making. In February 2014, the DMA announced that this rarely exhibited collection will debut at the DMA on a 15-year loan, advancing the Museum’s growing focus on new models for collection-building and cultural exchange and transforming its Islamic art collection into the third largest of its kind in North America.
Opening on September 18, the exhibition Spirit and Matter: Masterpieces from the Keir Collection of Islamic Art will showcase more than 50 masterworks from the Keir Collection, marking the first time that any of the featured works have been exhibited in North America. The first treasure from the collection, the carved rock crystal ewer from late 10th- to 11th-century Fatimid Egypt (969–1171), is currently on view in a special installation on the Museum’s third level and will be reinstalled as part of Spirit and Matter.
“Through this partnership, we look forward to sharing with millions of visitors the peerless creativity of artists working in the Islamic world from the 9th to the 19th centuries. No less important to the DMA is the ground-breaking research that will elucidate the importance of hundreds of masterworks in the Keir Collection, and we are very pleased to have the support of Kosmos Energy in making this possible,” said Maxwell L. Anderson, the DMA’s Eugene McDermott Director.
“The preservation of historic artifacts is integral to helping communities understand and appreciate all cultures. Kosmos supports the DMA’s commitment to protecting and celebrating these great artistic treasures of the past and is proud to be a part of their efforts,” said Andrew G. Inglis, Kosmos Energy’s Chief Executive Officer.
As Presenting Sponsor, Kosmos Energy will support all displays of the Keir Collection of Islamic Art, which will be curated by Dr. Sabiha Al Khemir, the DMA’s Senior Advisor for Islamic Art. Spirit and Matter will remain on view through July 2016. In 2016, additional works of art from the collection will be installed in the DMA’s collection galleries in a series of rotating installations planned to be on view until 2029. An international traveling exhibition commemorating Edmund de Unger’s 100th birthday will premiere at the DMA in the fall of 2018 and is expected to be available to tour to various U.S. and international venues beginning in summer 2019.
Named after the 18th-century British mansion where it was once housed, the Keir Collection includes textiles, carpets, ceramics, rock crystal, metalwork, and works on paper. Its geographic range extends from the western Mediterranean to South Asia. It is considered an indispensable resource for scholarship in the field of Islamic art. On long-term loan to the DMA, the Keir Collection supports the Museum’s emphasis on cultural exchange and is part of the DMX program, which is designed to foster international communication and collaboration.
About Kosmos Energy
Kosmos Energy is a leading independent oil and gas exploration and production company focused on frontier and emerging areas along the Atlantic Margin. Their assets include existing production and other major development projects offshore Ghana, as well as exploration licenses with significant hydrocarbon potential offshore Ireland, Mauritania, Morocco, Portugal, Senegal, Suriname, and Western Sahara. As an ethical and transparent company, Kosmos is committed to doing things the right way. The company’s Business Principles articulate our commitment to transparency, ethics, human rights, safety, and the environment. Read more about this commitment in the Kosmos 2014 Corporate Responsibility Report. Kosmos is listed on the New York Stock Exchange and is traded under the ticker symbol KOS. For additional information, visit kosmosenergy.com.
About the Dallas Museum of Art
Established in 1903, the Dallas Museum of Art (DMA) is among the 10 largest art museums in the country and is distinguished by its commitment to research, innovation, and public engagement. At the heart of the Museum and its programs is its global collection, which encompasses more than 23,000 works and spans 5,000 years of history, representing a full range of world cultures. Located in the nation’s largest arts district, the Museum acts as a catalyst for community creativity, engaging people of all ages and backgrounds with a diverse spectrum of programming, from exhibitions and lectures to concerts, literary events, and dramatic and dance presentations. Since the Museum’s return to free general admission in 2013, the DMA has welcomed more than two million visitors, and enrolled more than 100,000 people in DMA Friends, a free program available to anyone who wishes to join focused on active engagement with the Museum. For more information, visit DMA.org.
The Dallas Museum of Art is supported, in part, by the generosity of DMA Members and donors, the citizens of Dallas through the City of Dallas Office of Cultural Affairs, and the Texas Commission on the Arts.
