The Athena Art Foundation is a new not-for-profit digital platorm curating and posting on its hub and social media feeds innovative and accessible material about pre-modern art in museums and other locations around the world.   Our aim is to engage audiences with the world’s great artistic traditions, inviting people to discover and learn about works from across the centuries which continue to be as relevant now as when they were first produced. We passionately believe that looking closely at this art helps us to reflect on life today and imagine the world tomorrow.

Athena's Trustees and team hope you will join us via Zoom at 18:00 BST on 28th June to celebrate the launch of the hub. We are delighted to mark the occasion with a lecture by Athena Trustee Professor Sussan Babaie on some of the magnificent illuminations from 16th-century manuscripts of the Shahnama (Persian Book of Kings) now on display at the Epic Iran exhibition at London's V&A. Sussan's talk will be followed by a short Q&A.

Athena's founders are Dr Irene Brooke, Loie de Vore, Dr Nicola Jennings and Amanda Bradley Petitgas who is also Chair of the Trustees.  Amanda's fellow Trustees are Professor Sussan Babaie, Mark Harris and Suzanne Marriott. Also on the Athena team are Sarah Cussins, Dr Anna Koupstra, Maria Vittoria Pellini, Diego Fortunato and Isabelle Kent.  Our Brains Trust includes Jonquil O'Reilly, Alayo Akinkugbe, Dr Madeleine Haddon, Jina Han, Adam Levine, Maddie Kowitz, Sinead Read and Jasper Roscoe. Athena's Museum Advisory Group includes Till-Holger Borchert, Dr Adrienne Childs, Michael Taylor and Mark D. Mitchell.  We all look forward to connecting with you virtually on 28th June and promise to host a real party as soon as current restrictions are lifted!