Student Launches Yādgār, a Digital Archive of Iranian Cultural Heritage

Yādgār is a digital archive tracing the destruction, looting, and suppression of Iranian cultural heritage — and the people working to preserve it

Preserving heritage isn't just about the past. It's about who holds power over the story a culture gets to tell about itself.”
— Justin Mokri

BAKERSFIELD, CA, UNITED STATES, July 7, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- A new digital archive called Yādgār has launched to document the loss, looting, and suppression of Iranian and Middle Eastern cultural heritage — and to examine the power structures that decide what history survives and what disappears.

Available at yadgar.site, Yādgār brings together art history, cultural memory, and political context in one place, tracing how conflict, censorship, and the passage of time have put centuries of Iranian heritage at risk. Rather than presenting artifacts as isolated objects, the archive connects them to the forces that shape their fate, asking a question that runs throughout the project: who gets to decide what is remembered, and what is erased?

The name itself carries the mission. "Yādgār" is a Persian word meaning a keepsake or memento — something kept so that it is not forgotten. The site is built around that idea: preserving what remains of a heritage that is increasingly vulnerable, and making the case for why it matters to a wider audience.

Yādgār was founded by Justin Mokri, a high school student from Bakersfield whose own family heritage connects to Iranian and Korean culture. Drawing on that background and a longstanding interest in human rights and the way authoritarian power reshapes public memory, he built and deployed the platform independently.

"So much of a culture's history can be lost quietly — through destruction, through neglect, or through deliberate erasure," said Mokri. "Yādgār is my attempt to gather what's at risk of disappearing and to show that preserving heritage isn't just about the past. It's about who holds power over the story a people gets to tell about itself."

The project reflects a growing movement to use digital tools for cultural preservation, ensuring that art, history, and memory remain accessible even when the physical or political conditions surrounding them are unstable. By making the material free and public online, Yādgār aims to reach students, researchers, and anyone interested in the intersection of art, history, and human rights.

Yādgār is an ongoing project, with new material and features planned as it grows. Visitors are invited to explore the archive, share it, and reach out with questions or contributions.

To explore the archive, visit yadgar.site.
Media Contact:
Justin Mokri, Founder, Yādgār
justin.mokri@gmail.com

Justin Mokri
Yadgar
yadgaradvocacy@gmail.com
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