Eleventh International Conference on The Inclusive Museum

Abstract

Although the University of Central Oklahoma (UCO) does not have a museum per se, UCO’s Max Chambers Library organizes collaborative art exhibitions throughout the year by utilizing its own significant art collections. An exhibition entitled “Art of the Americas” is scheduled to open at the Max Chambers Library in the spring of 2018. This experimental exhibition will display works of art from North, Central, and South America, with dates ranging from the ninth century to the twentieth century. The exhibition will emphasize the cultural diversity of the Americas and illustrate how each culture has equally contributed to the larger cultural identity of the Americas. In addition, this exhibition will question conceptions of “fine art,” and ask “Who decides what belongs in an art museum?” The exhibition will also raise the question “Who decides what anthropological objects are and what belongs in an anthropology or natural history museum?” “Art of the Americas” will shed light on the long-standing ethnocentric biases that have shaped the concept of “others” in America. By suggesting that most of the cultures that we know in the present day are cross-cultural, transnational, and trans-historical products, the exhibition will encourage people to reexamine their conceptions of culture.