While I work on some urgent publication deadlines and some new blog posts (and mark papers!), here is another text from my personal archives: the first of a two-part excerpt from my PhD dissertation "Between National and Market: Art and Society in 20th Century Jamaica" (Emory University, 2011). The excerpt is from the Introduction. Part... Continue Reading →
The Wheels of History: Museums, Restitution and the Caribbean – Part 1
This is the first of a two-part post on the restitution debate and its significance to the Caribbean. This first part explores the general context and the second part specifically looks at the Caribbean. It is a time of reckoning for museums: museums are increasingly pressured to come to terms with their historical origins,... Continue Reading →
The Elephant in the Museum
Late last month, on December 28 to be precise, I visited what is now branded as the AfricaMuseum in Tervuren, a suburb of Brussels. My visit, during a family vacation to Belgium, came just a few weeks after the museum had reopened, after being closed for about five years for extensive renovations. The 86 million... Continue Reading →