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| Research | Events | Open space |
26 June 2018
Words Matter: Book Launch, Tropen Museum.
Spectrum 5.0 – Draft list of term sources. Input requested.
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Keti Koti Talks : Perspectives on the Slavery Past and its Afterlife
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Research | Events | Ope |
Flow of Forms / Forms of Flow. Design Histories between Africa and Europe
Exhibition at the Museum für Völkerkunde / Museum of Ethnology, Hamburg
April 6 – August 19, 2018
The exhibition Flow of Forms / Forms of Flow focuses on Design Histories between Africa and Europe through
the prism of past, present and future: It takes a look at global design
practices and forms which have developed through cooperative projects,
adaptation and transformation of ideas and concepts. Thus Flow of Forms / Forms of Flow reveals multifarious Design Histories in five thematic sections:
Forms of Modernity invoke the beginning of the 20th century and examine the relevance of African objects on modern design in Europe.
At the same time, they demonstrate how closely modern reform movements,
such as Arts and Crafts, were entangled with economic and colonial
premises. Selected positions in contemporary design do not only serve to
make these migrations of forms and concepts visible, but also subject
them to critical reflection. Transform(N)ation
looks at design during the early years of African states’ independence
from the mid-1950s to the 1970s. The political and emancipatory
potentials of design are especially prominent here and the creative
possibilities of expressing
social liberation are considered. Forms of awakening, nation-building
and identity take shape in the tension between globally circulating
concepts and recourses to local traditions. They are manifested in
architecture, (artist) magazines and fashion and are framed by
contemporary positions. Forms of Cooperation / Participation are
concerned with the social and political dimensions of design and focus
on forms, which have developed through cooperation, exchange and
dialogue and the flow of concepts, ideas and practices. Material
Morphosis foregrounds materials as bearers of meaning and considers the
concept of their morphosis (from one material into another). While, in
the European context, the phenomenon of material morphosis was long
pejoratively interpreted as mere imitation, deception or as a
substitute, materials and material morphosis play an important role in
African art and constitute a well-established process in contemporary
design. Here, transformations and translations are imbued with critical
or even playful intentions, as expressions of modernization,
democratization, re-evaluation. Speculative Forms / African Futurism are
concerned with the development of forms at the intersection of
technology, economy, and society. Anchored in the present, these future
scenarios are based on new technologies, materials, and production
methods, transnational networks and alternative infrastructures: they
convey social visions and may initiate paradigm changes, but also
register their draw backs and dystopias.
Countering
the usual representations of historical cultures and life ways in rural
Africa, the museum focuses in this exhibition on the contemporary
culture of the continent, characterised by urban centres with an
unrivalled cultural dynamism and a vibrant creative and artistic scene.
Designers
and Artists: David Adjaye for KnollTextiles, Àga Concept, Kossi
Aguessy, Karo Akpokiere, Black Coffee, Laurence Bonvin, Paolo Cascone /
COdesignLab, Sonya Clark, Matali Crasset & Bulawayo Home Industries,
Cucula, Cheick Diallo, Dokter and Misses, Nana Kwaku Duah II, Michael
Gathogo Githinji, Front & Siyazama Project, Fundi Bots, Eric van
Hove, I.AM.ISIGO, Yinka Ilori, Jean Katambayi Mukendi, Wanuri Kahiu,
Markus Kayser, Ladi Kwali, Lumkani, Abu Bakarr Mansaray, Michael
MacGarry, Ernst May, Emo de Medeiros, Vincent Michéa, The Nest
Collective, Laduma Ngxokolo, Karl Ernst Osthaus, Victor Papanek, Shem
Paronelli Artisanal, Simone Post, Rethaka, Walther Schmidt, Kofi
Setordji, Palash Singh for STEP/The New Basket Workshop, Studio
Formafantasma, Studio Sikoki, Kër Thiossane, Fatimah Tuggar, Obiora
Udechukwu, Marjorie Wallace for Mutapo Handmade Pottery, Jules Wokam,
unkown artist of Edo, Kete, Kuba, Lele, Tschokwe, Yoruba und unknown
artists of amaXhosa
Project Partner: Cheick Diallo/Diallo Design, Bamako/Mali.
This exhibition is based on the research and exhibition project Flow of Forms/Forms of Flow. Design Histories Between Africa and Europe
at the art historical institute of the Ludwig-Maximilians-University in
Munich. Its adaptation and extension for Hamburg was curated by Prof.
Dr. Kerstin Pinther, Dipl. Des. Alexandra Weigand M.A. and Prof. Dr.
Barbara Plankensteiner.
BOOK WITH TRANSCRIPT
Kerstin Pinther / Alexandra Weigand (eds.) 2018
Flow of Forms / Forms of Flow. Design Histories between Africa and Europe, Bielefeld Transcript. 2007 p.
As
a teenager, I spent my time wondering why in sci-fi movies, every
landscape, every object I could see was Western or Asian based. I've
finally understood that somewhere our legacy had been locked in the
past, that we couldn't be "futuristic" in the eyes of our fellow
Europeans. We have to look behind our shoulders, get back to our
traditions, seize the best of them and shape a future with it. This
without forgetting we are part of the world, totally, unquestionably.
The future is for me not only a matter of dialogue with the past, but
and beyond everything a dialogue with the rest of the planet. (Kossi
Aguessy)
How
is it possible to adequately capture histories of design in Africa, a
continent with fifty-four countries? How can one avoid producing just
another essentialising master narrative of "African Design"? How can one
make sense of the many entangled yet often asymmetric and sometimes
ambivalent histories of form-finding processes between Africa and
Europe? In keeping with the premises of a global art and design history
approach, the book offers a change of perspective: focusing on the
mobility of people, objects and ideas – on flows between Africa and
Europe as well as on a South-South axis – allows for multiple yet
necessarily fragmented design histories to be identified and recognised.
The contributors trace multi-faceted design case studies from a
historical perspective, with attention to the present as well as towards
possible futures.
With
contributions by Susan Mullin Vogel, Alison J. Clarke, Gui Bonsiepe,
Daniel Magaziner, Christian Hanussek, Erica de Greef, Kerstin Pinther,
Alexandra Weigand
For the introduction: https://www.transcript-verlag.
20 June 2018
Engaging 21st Century Researchers, McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, University of Cambridge, 2nd July 2018
A workshop exploring museum engagements with academic and community
researchers.
Over the past two years, the Museum
of Archaeology and Anthropology and the Whipple Museum of the History of
Science, University of Cambridge, have been working together to generate new
online portals for researchers, as part of Engaging Collections Online, a project funded by the Designated Development Fund, Arts Council
England.
As institutions involved in training new generations of researchers, we
have tried wherever possible to anticipate the needs of 21st century
researchers. We have undertaken user testing and evaluation throughout the
project, with both academic and community researchers, in order to understand
how to better enable their research.
This workshop will provide an opportunity to demonstrate the online
resources we have developed, to share knowledge and experience from the project
within the wider museum sector, and to begin a wider conversation about how
museums can better engage emerging generations of researchers.
Timing
The workshop is scheduled immediately
before the University Museums Group 2018 conference Foreign exchange? University museums and international engagement so
that delegates can easily attend both events.
The workshop will begin with lunch at 12:30pm, and end with a reception.
Attendance
We have a number of funded places available for that will cover travel
costs and one night of accommodation in Cambridge for attendees from regional
museums.
If you are interested in attending
the workshop, or in one of the funded places, please send an email outlining
your interest to: engagingresearchers@maa.cam.ac.uk
Exhibition, Fabric Africa: Stories told through textiles. Bristol Museum and Art Gallery, 30 June—19 May 2019
An insight into the forthcoming exhibition by curator Lisa Graves.
The exhibition FabricAfrica: Stories told through textiles has been over a year in the planning and on June 30th it will open to the public at Bristol Museum and Art Gallery. For me the textiles have always been a window into the huge variety and diversity of countries, people and ways of looking at the world that Africa can offer. Each item of clothing or individual cloth could tell many stories. So it was obvious that this exhibition would focus on highlighting rather than being comprehensive and selecting rather than trying to explore everything that this vast subject could offer.
If you wish to profile an exhibition, project or event on the MEG blog then please contact web@museumethnographersgroup.org.uk
The exhibition FabricAfrica: Stories told through textiles has been over a year in the planning and on June 30th it will open to the public at Bristol Museum and Art Gallery. For me the textiles have always been a window into the huge variety and diversity of countries, people and ways of looking at the world that Africa can offer. Each item of clothing or individual cloth could tell many stories. So it was obvious that this exhibition would focus on highlighting rather than being comprehensive and selecting rather than trying to explore everything that this vast subject could offer.
 |
| Tunic from Cameroon Grasslands. Empire and Commonwealth collection (c) Bristol Museum & Art Gallery |
The selection I made was also based on trying to get as wide
a geographical range of countries aspossible based on what our collections
could offer. There is a bias towards
sub-Saharan countries, and those in West Africa in particular, but in future it
would be great to add to our holdings from countries such as Somalia, Egypt or
Ethiopia. We have recently acquired contemporary
textiles from Kenya, and for this exhibition have been lucky enough to loan not
one, but two wedding dresses from a local, Kenyan- born, designer, Audrey
Migot.
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| Audrey Migot in her wedding dress (c) Bristol Museum and Art Gallery |
We made contact with Audrey, along with three other
individuals, through a call-out on social media who were happy to share their
thoughts on African textiles. We have
recorded their reactions to each of the exhibition themes – Status,
Communication, Exchange and Fashion – which you’ll be able to listen to in the
gallery. We hope to encourage more people
to share their personal stories around working with, owning, making or wearing
textiles from Africa through more social media call-outs on Twitter and
Instagram in the coming months.
Throughout the ten months or so the exhibition will be up we
have planned a series of events. These include
a practical day school for adults, a children’s Arts Award workshop, as well as
one aimed at Brownies, Guides, Cubs and Scouts groups and other family events for
Black History Month in October and November.
One of these will be a fashion show showcasing the work of local African
and African Diaspora designers and students.
We hope to be running a design competition associated with this event
taking inspiration from the pieces in the exhibition as well as from the
vibrant contemporary fashion scenes Africa has to offer.
Job Vacancy, Project Curator: Africa, British Museum
The British Museum is looking to recruit a Curator to work on the Africa collections within the Department of Africa, Oceania and the Americas. This is a busy and exciting time for the department internationally as well as within the Museum. During the fixed term allocated the post holder will provide curatorial support to the senior curators in the section in relation to a wide variety of programme activities and collections documentation.
Key areas of responsibility:
• To contribute to up-grading the documentation of the Africa collection, with a focus on record improvement for MI+.
• To support the development of new material for the British Museum website in relation to African collections.
• To assist with managing visits to the collection and enquiries from the public in person, in writing, by telephone and via e-mail.
• To make the collection, and knowledge about it, publicly accessible via publication, digital, display, and broadcast.
Person Specification:
With a BA/BSc degree (or equivalent) in Anthropology or related subject and some knowledge of African material culture and art, you will have experience of research in relation to an area of the African continent and a working knowledge of museum databases and acquisition procedures. In addition, you will have experience working in a curator capacity with an African collection along with some experience of management issues (people, projects, budgets). You will be an open and effective communicator and a team-player. Your work will also have been published in peer reviewed journals.
About the British Museum:
Founded in 1753, the British Museum’s remarkable collection spans over two million years of human history and culture. The Museum is one of the UK’s leading visitor attractions with over six million visitors in 2016 and its world-famous collection includes the Rosetta Stone, the Parthenon sculptures, Egyptian mummies, the Admonitions Scroll, and the Amaravati sculptures.
The Museum adheres to the HMG Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS) requirements for all staff at the British Museum.
The Museum is an equal opportunity employer, supports a diverse workplace and offers a competitive benefits package including:
• Membership of the civil service pension scheme
• Free entry to a wide range of museums and exhibitions
• Participation in private and public Museum activities, including talks by leading curators from around the world and behind-the-scenes opportunities to learn how museums care for and manage their extraordinary collections
• Generous annual leave allowance
• Interest-free season ticket loan
• Professional & personal development opportunities
• Employee Assistance Programme
• Discounts on food and gift shop purchases
If you are a positive individual, passionate about the Museum and would like to know more about this exciting opportunity, please follow the “Apply now” link below where you will be directed to complete your application.
Closing date: 25th June 2018, Midday
Further Details
Key areas of responsibility:
• To contribute to up-grading the documentation of the Africa collection, with a focus on record improvement for MI+.
• To support the development of new material for the British Museum website in relation to African collections.
• To assist with managing visits to the collection and enquiries from the public in person, in writing, by telephone and via e-mail.
• To make the collection, and knowledge about it, publicly accessible via publication, digital, display, and broadcast.
Person Specification:
With a BA/BSc degree (or equivalent) in Anthropology or related subject and some knowledge of African material culture and art, you will have experience of research in relation to an area of the African continent and a working knowledge of museum databases and acquisition procedures. In addition, you will have experience working in a curator capacity with an African collection along with some experience of management issues (people, projects, budgets). You will be an open and effective communicator and a team-player. Your work will also have been published in peer reviewed journals.
About the British Museum:
Founded in 1753, the British Museum’s remarkable collection spans over two million years of human history and culture. The Museum is one of the UK’s leading visitor attractions with over six million visitors in 2016 and its world-famous collection includes the Rosetta Stone, the Parthenon sculptures, Egyptian mummies, the Admonitions Scroll, and the Amaravati sculptures.
The Museum adheres to the HMG Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS) requirements for all staff at the British Museum.
The Museum is an equal opportunity employer, supports a diverse workplace and offers a competitive benefits package including:
• Membership of the civil service pension scheme
• Free entry to a wide range of museums and exhibitions
• Participation in private and public Museum activities, including talks by leading curators from around the world and behind-the-scenes opportunities to learn how museums care for and manage their extraordinary collections
• Generous annual leave allowance
• Interest-free season ticket loan
• Professional & personal development opportunities
• Employee Assistance Programme
• Discounts on food and gift shop purchases
If you are a positive individual, passionate about the Museum and would like to know more about this exciting opportunity, please follow the “Apply now” link below where you will be directed to complete your application.
Closing date: 25th June 2018, Midday
Further Details
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