INDG 401 Lecture Notes - Lecture 15: Royal Ontario Museum, Lubicon Lake Indian Nation, Canadian Museum Of History
9 Jun 2018
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Lecture 15: Canadian Museum Controversy
for the paper the thesis can’t be “it’s a counter monument, it's not enough"
relationship between power over content and power over reception
power over content and reception are in dialogue with each other
museums are processed rather than static construct
when u think about their relationship, u wonder
- what roles do curators vs non curators play in creating an exhibition content?
- how does the consultation process affect the later reception in exhibitions?
- does negative public reception lead to changes in the original content? when, why, and
through what processes?
various groups get involved in this debate: historians, journalists, government, international
influence...
"THE SPIRIT SINGS” CONTROVERSY?
Calgary: special exhibition to celebrate indigenous artistic productions in canada
it was supposed to represent canada’s cultural diversity
it only showed ancient work instead of new ones?
the main corporate sponsor of this exhibition was Shell oil
Shell had given rights to drill on traditional lands
LUBICON CREE PROTEST
they pointed out the government of canada was displaying this arts while shell was still
drilling on land
they call people to boycott exhibition and not send arts but it didn’t really work
it resulted in the creation of assembly of first nationas and canon museums to express
indigenous concerns over exhibits everywhere in canada
THE ROYAL ONTARIO MUSEUM’S “INTO THE HEART OF AFRICA”
exhibition that ran until august 1990
artifacts of the Royal Ontario Museum
the idea was to show through artifacts the role of Canadian in european colonization of Africa
the exhibit was supposed to be critical of colonization
subtle irony: u use the language and images of colonizers to critique them
that did not work so well
it turned into an example of what happens when curators develop content without consulting
the appropriate community
3 critiques
- presented colonialism from an empirical perspective. pictures taken by and presented in the
view point of colonizers, artifacts collected by colonizers as well
- african represented in a stereotype manner (offering lessons of women in Nigeria about how
to wash clothes)
- there wasn’t any african voice in the exhibition
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Does negative public reception lead to changes in the original content? when, why, and through what processes? various groups get involved in this debate: historians, journalists, government, international influence Calgary: special exhibition to celebrate indigenous artistic productions in canada it was supposed to represent canada"s cultural diversity it only showed ancient work instead of new ones? the main corporate sponsor of this exhibition was shell oil. Shell had given rights to drill on traditional lands. Presented colonialism from an empirical perspective. pictures taken by and presented in the view point of colonizers, artifacts collected by colonizers as well. African represented in a stereotype manner (offering lessons of women in nigeria about how to wash clothes) There wasn"t any african voice in the exhibition the curator didn"t talk to african community in toronto before she put the exhibition together main. Museum responded saying this was an issue of academic freedom of speech.
