October 9 — Maxwell Anderson and Boureima Diamitani converse about Museums in a Global Community
In honor of the IMA’s 125th Anniversary, Maxwell Anderson will host public conversations with leaders from the global museum community. An important conversation will be “Expanding Community: Relevant Roles for Museums in Africa & the United States.” Dr. Boureima Diamitani, executive director of the West African Museum Programme, will join Dr. Anderson for a conversation about colonial collections and post-colonial communities, conserving cultural and art history, and other pressing issues for museums today.
When: Thursday October 9, 6:30 PM
Where: Deer Zink Pavilion Indianapolis Museum of Art 4000 N. Michigan Rd., Indianapolis, IN 46208
Why does Provocate think you should attend this event?
Boureima Diamitani has been at the center of some of the most important thinking and acting about how museums can contribute to cultural and economic development. An example of his thinking can be seen in a talk he gave at Harvard. Summarized:
The last decade saw the creation of new private, regional and community-based museums in West Africa with local communities attempting to re-appropriate their culture and history. Private and community-based museums–through their flexibility, their capacity to promote the involvement of communities, and their knowledge of the local environment–could be considered as partners for the implementation of innovative programmes for museums in West Africa. They have an important role to play in the future of museums. They could be catalysts for a greater participation and a better integration of communities in preserving local culture and cultural and natural heritage in general. However, private and community museums face a number of serious institutional issues.
Maxwell Anderson could be one of the most important interlocutors could find in the US. See some examples of Maxwell’s thinking here. It should be a good discussion.
Add to this that Diamitani hosts workshops on topics such as “Armed conflicts, peace culture and protection of cultural heritage in West Africa” and you have Provocate’s enthusiasm.
If you think this sounds interesting, be sure to check out …
Some other events discuss art and larger issues of community and society:
- August 14 — IndyBANG! hosts Provocate’s John Clark in a discussion of “Everything is Glocal: Culture, Community, and the Need for a New Foreign Policy for Indianapolis”
- September 4 — “Start with Art 2008″ starts with a discussion of whether art makes us safer
- November 1 — Celebrate El Dia de los Muertos at the Indianapolis Art Center to see how global cultures can be synthesized
- November 13 — Discuss how to make arts & culture pay with Charlotte’s Lee Keesler
- November 15 to February 15 — “Our Land: Contemporary Art from the Arctic” uses art from the Inuit to illuminate challenges that community faces in the 21st century
- November 16 — “Imagining a Global City: Visions of Indianapolis and the World” will use IMA’s African collection to discuss indiana’s many linkages
- December 11 — Hear from Rebecca Ryan when the next generation of civic and arts leaders will emerge
And for your listening pleasure …
Cheikh Lô is a star in Senegal’s booming music industry who, like Dr. Diamitani, is originally from Burkina Faso.
