The Met Presents A Live Three- Day Conversation Series About Museums

Tomorrow, May 18, The Metropolitan Museum of Art will host a virtual, three-day, live convening during which scholars, artists, writers, performers, and activists including Sarah Lewis, (Associate Professor of History of Art and Architecture and African and African American Studies at Harvard University); artist Elizabeth Colomba; Samir Meghelli (Senior Curator at the Smithsonian Anacostia Community Museum); Anupam Sah (Head of Art Conservation, Research, Training at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya); and artist Alexis Peskin will discuss recent shifts in how museums engage and interact with their publics in response to the ongoing pandemic and international calls for social and racial justice.

People: A Global Dialogue on Museums and Their Publics will take place live on zoom on May 18, 19, 20, with discussions organized into five sessions focusing on themes such as "Race and Identity" and "Community Partnerships." Open questions will frame each of the daily sessions, encouraging meaningful and candid dialogue.

Registration is now open and advance registration is required. The conversations will also be recorded and available to view after they take place.

Schedule

Please note: For the full descriptions and question prompts for each session, and to register, please click on the individual links below.

Day 1: Tuesday, May 18, 1-5 p.m.

Session 1: Redefining Narratives 1-3 p.m.

Welcoming Remarks:

Daniel H. Weiss, President and Chief Executive Office, The Met

Max Hollein, Marina Kellen French Director, The Met

Heidi Holder, Frederick P. and Sandra P. Rose Chair of Education, The Met

Speakers:

Elizabeth Colomba, artist

Corinna Gardner, Senior Curator of Design and Digital and Head of Rapid Response Collecting, Victoria and Albert Museum

Allison Glenn, Associate Curator, Contemporary Art, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art

Mariana Valencia, choreographer

Moderated by Hrag Vartanian, Editor in Chief and Cofounder, Hyperallergic

Session 2: Interpretation 3:15-5 p.m.

Introduction:

Heidi Holder, Frederick P. and Sandra P. Rose Chair of Education, The Met

Speakers:

John Kuo Wei Tchen, Clement A. Price Chair of Public History and Humanities, Rutgers University

Haidy Geismar, Professor of Anthropology, University College London

Kamini Sawhney, Director, Museum of Art and Photography

Moderated by Vishkaha Desai, Senior Advisor for Global Affairs, Department Chair of the Committee on Global Thought, and Senior Research Scholar in Global Studies, Columbia University

Day 2: Wednesday, May 19, 1-5 p.m.

Session 3: Past and Present, 1-3 pm

Introduction:

Andrea Bayer, Deputy Director for Collections and Administration, The Met

Speakers:

Aaron Glass, Associate Professor, Bard Graduate Center

George Nuku, artist

Anupam Sah, Head of Art Conservation, Research, Training, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya (CSMVS)

Moderated by Jonathan Michael Square, fashion historian

Session 4: Race and Identity, 3:15-5 pm

Introduction:

Andrea Bayer, Deputy Director for Collections and Administration, The Met

Speakers:

Mame-Fatou Niang, Associate Professor of French and Francophone Studies, Carnegie Mellon University

Eunsong Kim, Assistant Professor of English, Northeastern University

Alexis Peskine, artist

Moderated by Jonathan Michael Square, fashion historian

Day 3: Thursday, May 20, 1-4 p.m.

Session 5: Community Partnership, 1-3 p.m.

Speakers:

Joshua Bell, Curator of Globalization, Director of Recovering Voices Program, and Acting Director of the National Anthropological Archives, National Museum of Natural History

Samir Meghelli, Senior Curator, Smithsonian Anacostia Community Museum

Salma Jreige and Sarah Fortmann-Hijazi, Project Coordinators, Multaka: Museum as Meeting Point

Louise Hunter, Lead, Indigenous Services, Public Libraries and Engagement, State Library of Queensland

Moderated by Kemi Ilesanmi, Executive Director, The Laundromat Project

Keynote, 3:15 p.m.

Introduction:

Denise Murrell, Associate Curator, Nineteenth and Twentieth Century Art, The Met

Keynote Speaker:

Sarah Lewis, Associate Professor, History of Art and Architecture and African and African American Studies, Harvard University

Closing Remarks:

Heidi Holder, Frederick P. and Sandra P. Rose Chair of Education, The Met

For more information or to register, please contact meryl.cates@metmuseum.org.

To post a comment, you must register and login.