Why Black Museums: "Other Geographies, New Fields"

Two-day symposium meditating on the practices and legacies of Black museum work

About this Event

This edition of Why Black Museums, “Other Geographies, New Humanities,” meditates on the practices and legacies of Black museum work and its ideas about place and migration. Convening artists, archivists, and curators will discuss their work and the relationships among geographies, museums, and material culture.

As varied scholars have followed the roots and routes of Black cultures across the globe, their work has encouraged reassessments of the humanities’ long-tacit focus on a singular, unified, and European-originated culture and history. Re-envisioning the assumed centers and boundaries within North American humanities scholarship, Black museums have helped recover understudied historical sites, intellectual lineages, and artistic milieus—spurring new geographical imaginaries and modes of inquiry.

About Why Black Museums

Why Black Museums was conceptualized by Dr. Cherise Smith, Executive Director of Art Galleries at Black Studies, Dr. Gaila Sims, and Dr. Delphine Sims. This multiyear initiative was conceived to honor and examine Black museums’ contributions to the museum field, and to celebrate AGBS as a promising addition to the larger community of ethnically specific museums.

Day One: November 6


🕑: 04:00 PM - 05:30 PM
Carla Williams Keynote Lecture
Host: Carla Williams

Info: AGBS is pleased to present a keynote lecture by Carla Williams. Williams explores representations of Black women in the history of photography in her germinal work as an historian, curator, archivist, and artist.

Day Two: November 7


🕑: 10:00 AM - 02:30 PM
Scholar and Artist Convening
Host: Lava Thomas

Info: Morning Panel:

Presentations by Lava Thomas and Dale Brockman Davis, followed by a moderated conversation and audience Q&A.


Lunch


Afternoon Panel:
Presentations by Mora Beauchamp-Byrd and Dr. Jordana Saggese, followed by a moderated conversation and audience Q&A.


Afternoon Reception at Gordon-White Building

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