Cultural Heritage Monitoring Lab (CHML)

"Cultural targeting should concern us greatly," Dr. Brian I. Daniels, the PennCHC's Director of Research and Programs, told the U.S. Congress's Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission on Erasing Ukrainian Identity and Culture last Wednesday. Dr. Daniels testified before the Congressional Commission about the systematic targeting of Ukrainian culture by Russia, referencing our collaborative documentation and research with partners at the НеМо: Ukrainian Heritage Monitoring Lab, Smithsonian Cultural Rescue Initiative, Virginia Museum of Natural History, and Center for International Development and Conflict Management at the University of Maryland.

SCRI’s research team has published a report confirming that the Odesa Art Museum in Ukraine was damaged due to a nearby rocket impact between November 6-8, 2023. Our Ukrainian partners, НеМо: Ukrainian Heritage Monitoring Lab, confirmed and documented the damage shortly after the attack. A new report from SCRI, HEMO, Penn Cultural Heritage Center, and the Cultural Heritage Monitoring Lab (CHML) at Virginia Museum of Natural History analyzes the ground documentation alongside satellite imagery. Read the report: https://bit.ly/3Jegv7z

On 23 July 2023, the Transfiguration Cathedral in Odesa, Ukraine, was hit by at least one direct impact, suffering most damage to the transept and west end of the central nave. The Cathedral's interior was further damaged by a fire likely resulting from the impact. At the link below, read our report with НеМо: Ukrainian Heritage Monitoring Lab, Smithsonian Cultural Rescue Initiative, and the Cultural Heritage Monitoring Lab at the Virginia Museum of Natural History. https://lnkd.in/eetTVfX9

Our colleagues from the Penn Cultural Heritage Center published a study on the damage to the Kharkiv Philharmonic Hall as a result of Russian artillery shelling in March 2022. The Philharmonic has been and remains an important venue for music and theatrical performances in Ukraine and Kharkiv for over 100 years. This report is the result of a combination of documentation by the HeMo Lab team and research by our partners who track the destruction of Ukrainian cultural heritage remotely. The report includes a wide range of documentation of the damage to the Kharkiv Philharmonic: satellite data, field documentation, monitoring of open sources, and analysis of mobile data. "This research gives us a more comprehensive understanding of the circumstances of the Philharmonic's damage and validates the work of the HeMo Lab with objective data," adds Roxolana Makar, a damage documentation specialist at HeMo Lab. The damages were investigated and analyzed in collaboration with: Cultural Heritage Monitoring Lab at the Virginia Museum of Natural History, HeMo: Ukrainian Heritage Monitoring Lab, Center for International Development and Conflict Management at the University of Maryland Department of Government & Politics, Smithsonian Cultural Rescue Initiative, and the Penn Cultural Heritage Center. The full report in English is available at the following link: https://lnkd.in/gw_ERbkA

The Kharkiv Regional Philharmonic Orchestra was damaged in an artillery attack by Russia's forces in March 2022. The Philharmonic had been a premier venue for musical and theatrical performances in Ukraine for more than a century. The conflict damage is analyzed in a new report by the Cultural Heritage Monitoring Lab at the Virginia Museum of Natural History, НеМо: Ukrainian Heritage Monitoring Lab, Center for International Development and Conflict Management at the University of Maryland, Smithsonian Cultural Rescue Initiative, and Penn Cultural Heritage Center. Read the full report: https://lnkd.in/gw_ERbkA