By Kiera Reilly, C’93 @KieraReilly
Last month, members of the Southern California Regional Advisory Board (otherwise known as SCRAB) gathered to hear my classmate, Darius Arya, Ph.D., C’93, speak about storytelling cultural heritage through modern means, namely via social media tools such as Instagram and Twitter. Dar lives in Rome and is the CEO and co-founder of the American Institute for Roman Culture.
After re-connecting with him and his wife Erica Firpo, C’94, while in Rome this past May, I’ve been following them both as they share local scenes via Twitter and Instagram (Erica via @moscerina and Dar via @SaveRome). When I heard Dar would be in Los Angeles in November, I asked if he would speak to SCRAB about his work, and he graciously agreed.
An example of Dar’s Instagram from a few weeks ago with this caption: The curve. Romans perfected the arch. Here, in Trajan’s Markets they turned it on its side (and lined it with shops) to hold back the Quirinal Hill #culturalheritage #rome #archaeology
The group gathered at Culina – a modern Italian restaurant at the Four Seasons Beverly Hills. Everyone sipped Prosecco and munched on bruschetta while waiting for everyone to arrive. We then sat down for a family-style dinner while Dar spoke about utilizing digital media to engage a global audience and tell stories about cultural heritage.
SCRAB co-president Denise Winner, W’83, and Roz Pinkus, CW’64, PAR’94, GPAR’17
Marty Caan, W’69, PAR’11, and Jack Tauber, C’73, PAR’08
Bob Weingarten, C’74, PAR’12, Salvador Brau, C’67, Pam Weingarten, PAR’12, and Nora Brau,.
Eric Reiter, W’97, our speaker Darius Arya, C’93, and Jackie Bral, PAR’15, PAR’15
Our elegant family-style dinner table at Culina.
It was an interesting lesson to hear how modern tools can reach a vast global audience and help share the stories of ancient roman culture, and hopefully help to further preserve these ancient sites.
My Instagram from the event @KieraReilly
For more on ancient Rome, follow Dar’s informative posts on his Instagram account @SaveRome.
For more information on the American Institute for Roman Culture, see their website at: http://romanculture.org/. You may also see Dar as he appears frequently in History, Discovery, and National Geographic documentaries and pursues projects relating to cultural heritage management, preservation, promotion, outreach, and communications.
Dar’s Instagram from Dec. 12: Winter blues. Getting jealous of all the great winter shots I’ve been seeing on IG. Sure Rome has its Christmas atmosphere: trees, nativity scenes, light, fair in Piazza Navona, smell of roasted chestnuts are on the air, and the Lungotevere sycamore trees are becoming bare… But we really just have two district seasons: wet and dry– no snow… With some exceptions. Almost two years ago snow fell in Rome for the first time in over 20 years. So I cheer up with memories from that magical moment. #latergram #culturalheritage #rome #archaeology
Frankly Penn 