Irfan Zuberi

University Of Tuebingen, Department of Indology, Institute of Asian and Oriental Studies, Graduate Student

Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts, Janpath, New Delhi, Cultural Informatics, Faculty Member

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I am a cultural heritage leader and digital transformation advisor with 20+ years of experience across museums, archives, and cultural institutions in India, the Middle East, and Europe. My work focuses on metadata management, large-scale digitization, archiving, long-term digital preservation, and public access to cultural heritage.

I have led nationally and internationally significant initiatives, including steering India’s National Cultural Audiovisual Archives to become the world’s first ISO 16363 certified Trustworthy Digital Repository, and operationalising the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s first systematic museum documentation and digitisation programme at the Museums Commission.

My expertise includes museum and archive collection assessment, digitization, metadata & documentation standards, digital preservation systems, cultural policy, intellectual property frameworks, and multi-stakeholder project leadership. I regularly work with Ministries, international organizations, museums, archives, vendors, and academic institutions to translate global standards into sustainable, operational practice.

Alongside my professional work, I maintain an active academic profile in musicology and ethnomusicology, with peer-reviewed publications, international conference presentations, and teaching engagements. I am currently a Raza Fellow, working on a scholarly biography of Pandit Mallikarjun Mansur.
Supervisors: Prof. Heike Oberlin and Prof. Stefan Morent & Prof. Richard Widdess
Phone: +91-11-9999016815
Address: MD-2, Sah Vikas Apartments, 68, I. P. Extension, Delhi - 110092, India

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Papers by Irfan Zuberi

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In the broadest sense, archives are an embodiment of cultural artefacts that endure as signifiers... more In the broadest sense, archives are an embodiment of cultural artefacts that endure as signifiers of who we are and why. They are both a place of representation of these signifiers and their institutional form, providing tangible evidence of memory as well as defining memory institutionally within prevailing political systems and cultural norms. The principle of offering equal and open access to archival resources remains a cornerstone in various guidelines and codes of ethics for archival practices. However, providing open access is also a thorny problem and one that is challenged by factors such as intellectual property rights. This paper considers the notion of open access in the domain of audiovisual archives and the challenging potential that it offers, looking specifically at the experience of India's National Cultural Audiovisual Archives. Perhaps the moment of open access is well and truly upon audiovisual archives in the twenty-first century, for they face the necessity of reinventing themselves or risking possible irrelevancy and increased marginalization, even as they must continue to balance delicate questions pertaining to ethics of access.

Joining Forces in Audiovisual Digitisation, Digital Preservation and Access

IASA journal, Dec 17, 2018

The paper presents the benefits of a collaborative approach in the domain of audiovisual archivin... more The paper presents the benefits of a collaborative approach in the domain of audiovisual archiving in two very different contexts: NCAA in India and VIAA in Flanders. Following an initial contextualisation in the respective countries, the authors share a detailed modus operandi, outlining the functionalities and traceability matrices of the implementation processes involved in the networks that they have managed to build. Especially critical are the insights and parallels between NCAA and VIAA in the domains of audiovisual digitisation, digital preservation and access. Concluding with a look to the future, the authors hope to put forward the idea that a well-defined collaborative approach has the potential of functioning as a possible solution to the needs and aspirations of all stakeholders-content providers, digitisation agencies, archival network and a wide range of potential users.

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Book Review: Richard K. Wolf, The Black Cow’s Footprint: Time, Space, and Music in the Lives of the Kotas of South India

Contributions to Indian Sociology, Jun 1, 2013

Keynotes and Keboards

Technology has an increasingly large role to play in the lives of us all in myriad ways. It is th... more Technology has an increasingly large role to play in the lives of us all in myriad ways. It is thus no surprise that it has a deep-reaching impact on the life of Indian classical music through various channels such as recording, broadcasting and of course, amplified performances. What follows is a brief history of the involvement of technology in Indian classical music and a glance at the various issues which musicians have to deal with across the country. The paper is divided into three sections recording, broadcasting and finally, the effects of technology on the guru-shishya parampara

Dawn of Digital Repository Certification Under ISO 16363 Exploring the Horizon and Beyond

by Irfan Zuberi and Jessica Tieman

Balancing Open Access & Intellectual Property Rights at the National Cultural Audiovisual Archives of India

Keynotes and Keboards

Evolution of a Ritual Musical Genre: The Adaptation of Qawwali in Contemporary Hindi Film

Routledge, Oct 4, 2016

Open access

Hindustani classical music: The modernization of a great tradition : Dedicated to bharat ratna ust. Bismillah khan (21 march 1916 -21 august 2006)

Joining Forces in Audiovisual Digitisation, Digital Preservation and Access

International Association of Sound and Audiovisual Archives (IASA) Journal, 2018

The paper presents the benefits of a collaborative approach in the domain of audiovisual archivin... more The paper presents the benefits of a collaborative approach in the domain of audiovisual archiving in two very different contexts: NCAA in India and VIAA in Flanders. Following an initial contextualisation in the respective countries, the authors share a detailed modus operandi, outlining the functionalities and traceability matrices of the implementation processes involved in the networks that they have managed to build. Especially critical are the insights and parallels between NCAA and VIAA in the domains of audiovisual digitisation, digital preservation and access. Concluding with a look to the future, the authors hope to put forward the idea that a well-defined collaborative approach has the potential of functioning as a possible solution to the needs and aspirations of all stakeholders - content providers, digitisation agencies, archival network and a wide range of potential users.

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Keynotes and Keboards

Open access: A challenging opportunity for audiovisual archives

Book Review: Richard K. Wolf, The Black Cow's Footprint: Time, Space, and Music in the Lives of the Kotas of South India

Contributions to Indian Sociology, 2013

Art, Artists & Patronage: Qawwali in Hazrat Nizamuddin Basti

Widely considered to be the birthplace of khānaqāhī qawwālī (qawwālī performed in a Sufi shrine) ... more

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Whither the Delhi Gharana?

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North Indian Classical Vocal Music: Modernization of a Great Tradition

Without music, life would be a mistake.

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Keynotes and Keyboards

format_quotePost-independence, Indian recording industry saw new companies emerging, leading to a more competitive market fostering diverse music production.format_quote

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Conferences & workshops by Irfan Zuberi

Workshop "From Sacred Hymns to Devotional Songs. A Diachronic and Transcultural Study of Religious Singing in India" (Tübingen, 2020)

by Heike Oberlin (Moser), Guy L Beck, Peter Gietz, Borayin Larios, Irfan Zuberi, Erika Caranti, Vivek Virani, and Bernard Bel

2020, January 17 – 18: Organisation of the international workshop at the University of Tübingen "... more 2020, January 17 – 18: Organisation of the international workshop at the University of Tübingen "From Sacred Hymns to Devotional Songs. A Diachronic and Transcultural Study of Religious Singing in India” as part of the interdisciplinary Exploration Full Fund Project "Sacred Sound – Musical Manifestations of the Sacred between Theory and Practice" (Excellence Strategy University of Tübingen).

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