Canada, a laboratory for the decolonization of museums

[cbabe]

https://english.elpais.com/culture/2024-11-28/canada-a-laboratory-for-the-decolonization-of-museums.html

Canada, a laboratory for the decolonization of museums

The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts is unveiling a new gallery to showcase its collection of Inuit art, adding to other initiatives in defense of the country’s indigenous artists

IRENE SERRANO
Montreal - NOV 28, 2024 - 11:36 EST

The Irish historian and political scientist Benedict Anderson used to say that nations are social constructs, communities imagined by individuals who feel part of the same group. In Canada, for more than a century, one of the primary functions of museums was to contribute to the consolidation of these constructs, participating in the creation of the national identity of a young country. But for decades, the process omitted the legacy of the First Nations, the Inuit, the Métis and other indigenous peoples whose lands were taken by European settlers and who successive Canadian governments marginalized and massacred. In recent years, as Canada tries to confront the darkest chapters of its history, its museums have begun a profound transformation, revising the imagined community they projected and following a path that some dare to call decolonization.

At the federal level, the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa has been moving in this direction since the early 2000s, with measures such as the creation of a Curator of Indigenous Art in 2007, the merging of works by Indigenous and Canadian authors in the same gallery in 2017, and most recently the launch of a Department of Indigenous Ways and Decolonization in 2022, which has positively contributed to the diversity of the museum’s staff. At the regional level, the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MBAM) has joined the trend with a series of initiatives, gestures and practices.

“We are working to be a multiperspectival and multivocal museum,” says director Stéphane Aquin. He says Greco-Roman art was once thought to be the foundation of culture and of the museum. “But by recognizing the presence of Indigenous peoples and their artistic practices in North America for thousands of years, we are undergoing a process of rebalancing,” explains Léuli Eshrāghi, curator of Indigenous arts at MBAM, a position created last summer that reflects the institution’s desire to embrace different points of view and opinions. “My role is to be attentive to artistic and design practices, cultural protocols, and Indigenous relationships. My goal is to make the space more welcoming to local and global Indigenous peoples. And yes, I am an art curator, but also something else,” explains Eshrāghi, who is descended from Samoan, Persian, and other groups.

… more …

[Drum]

1. Thanks for this positive post!

👏🇨🇦👏