Colonial (dis)appearances in the art museum

Description

Colonialism, writes Elizabeth Edwards, “has an uneasy presence within public narratives of history” (2016). This presence constantly escapes spaces such as public museums, and is instead relegated to, in Edwards words, “elsewheres” – spaces,
times, and disciplines outside of the museum. However, different types of museums have varying proximities to colonial history, and in this regard,
the European art museum – both today and historically – seems further apart. Only in recent years have exhibitions dealing explicitly with colonial histories appeared. Does this imply that the art museum is an especially difficult place to discuss colonialism? Or is there simply a different kind of visibility, a different presence, of the colonial in the art museum, compared to ethnographic museums? Has the colonial disappeared from the art museum, or is it hypervisible? And are only certain colonial
histories allowed within the museum?

This seminar invites curators and researchers that currently work with colonial history and/ or work from post/decolonial perspectives in art museums. The seminar asks: how does colonial history become visible in the specific context of art museums? What are some of the difficulties of working with colonial history within art history? How do we retain the “uneasy presence” of colonialism in the context of art museums? What does a post/decolonial curatorial practice look like?

The invited speakers are currently engaged in exhibitions or curatorial research, and the goal of the seminar is to create a space for shared experiences and questions.

Speakers:
Stephanie Archangel (Rijksmuseum), Claire van Els (Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam), Jonathan Fine (Ethnologisches Museum of the State Museums of Berlin), Anna Kærsgaard Gregersen (Glyptoteket), Henrik Holm (SMK), Johanne Løgstrup (Aarhus University), Christine Tommerup (Glyptoteket), Dorthe Aagesen (SMK)

Period	29 Oct 2019
Event type	Seminar
Location	Copenhagen, DenmarkShow on map
Degree of Recognition	International