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SPRING 2000 |
Arts of the Americas InstituteInstitute Embraces Marginalized Culturesby Nancy Harbert |
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Ten years ago, the Arts of the Americas program debuted at the College of Fine Arts as a means to celebrate the diverse cultures and traditions of the Western Hemisphere. Every summer since, the college has hosted guest artists from throughout the hemisphere in a variety of lectures, exhibitions, classes and presentations. Not only is the series successful, but it also points to the need for a stronger commitment to the cross-cultural exchange of creative ideas and activities. That commitment came to fruition last fall with the creation of the Arts of the Americas Institute. "We're trying to address the whole notion of diversity and inclusion—not being so narrow-minded in what arts are and who can do them," says Tom Dodson, dean of the College of Fine Arts and interim director of the Arts of the Americas Institute. The institute is developing programs that embrace the institute's mission of promoting recognition, acceptance, understanding and communication of arts throughout the hemisphere. Of special interest are arts and cultures that have been historically under-represented. The institute will facilitate alliances and collaborations between individuals and organizations, both within and outside the University, and provide financial support for faculty research and student projects. One reason to establish the institute, Dodson says, was that it offered a way to seek outside funding sources for college programs. "We found ourselves wanting to make improvements, and with a lack of funding at the state level for our programs, we realized this institute (and the Arts Technology Center) would give us an opportunity to seek outside funds for focused activity," he says. | |
| Museum Studies Focuses on Native American Concerns A number of grant applications are pending, including one with the Educational Foundation of America to develop a museum studies program in the College of Fine Arts. Reflecting a growing number of tribal museums and cultural centers throughout the United States and Canada, the program will focus on training a new cadre of museum professionals to manage effectively those facilities and their collections. "The proposed program would include a curriculum that addresses Native American perspectives on the cultural care and treatment of collections and the creation of a preservation/conservation lab," says Maria Williams, the institute's associate director. "We'd also like to develop long-distance professional museum studies workshops that will occur on-site at various tribal museums in New Mexico." |
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The Department of Art and Art History currently offers introductory courses in museum studies. By broadening the program, undergraduate students could earn a minor in museum studies and students at the graduate level could receive a certificate. The project entails consulting with Native American professionals to develop an appropriate curriculum and hiring a Native American museum specialist to teach courses and design other aspects of the program. |
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Complementing the museum studies program will be a collaborative project with the college's Bainbridge Bunting Memorial Slide Library. It will expand an in-house database of Native American artists into a searchable online database of selections from the library's 25,000 images of Native American artwork. Sheila Hannah, director of the slide library, spearheads this project and is working with the Arts of the Americas Institute to develop it. The database would include biographical information about each artist, sample images of their work and links to museums that own the works. Once completed, it would serve as a definitive information source for scholars, curators, tribal museums and colleges, students and critics engaged in the study and exhibition of the works of Native American artists. "Since Native Americans have been subjected to a long history of exploitation, we do not want to continue this practice on the Web," says Williams. "Thus, a major part of the project will be to secure permission to display the images of the artists' work from the rights-holding institutions and/or individuals." | |
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Effects of Globalization on Arts A Rockefeller Foundation Humanities Fellowship is being sought to fund a program that would investigate the effects of globalization on the film, music and graphic arts of the United States and Mexico.
"Most studies on globalization focus on political, economic and environmental issues, largely omitting the arts," says Williams of the program's significance. |
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Adam and Eve, 1990, Charlie Carrillo, | The institute, in partnership with the University Art Museum, aims to set up the Rockefeller fellowship program in which senior fellows would visit the college for a month and junior fellows for up to two semesters. |
| They would explore the issues of how cultural production has been affected by globalization, artistic nationalism and politicization. These fellows would be integrated into the intellectual life of the University and have full access to its extensive collections. At the conclusion of their stay, they would be invited to participate in a symposium during which they would share their insights. | |
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Museums via Virtual Means The institute also is seeking funding from the Department of Commerce's Technology Opportunities Program, which has been advocated by Vice President Al Gore to improve Internet access in rural communities. In New Mexico, funds would be used to acquire state-of-the-art computer equipment and provide higher-band Internet connections at tribal museums and cultural centers. The faster links would enable the far-flung museums to provide long-distance education and virtual tours of their galleries. |
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Already indicating an interest in this project is Poeh Arts of Pojoaque Pueblo, Walatowa Visitors Center of Jemez Pueblo and the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center. The Albuquerque High Performance Computing Center will serve as a technology partner. |
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Spring 2000 Newsletter Topics |
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Newsletter Editor: Ellen K. Pranno; Asst. Editor: Kate Downer; Writer: Nancy Harbert; Graphic Designer: Michael T. Sanchez
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