Abstract
Museums serve as dynamic spaces where diverse cultures converge, compete, and interact with one another. With a global mandate to showcase art and culture museums utilize exhibited artworks to convey cultural significance and serve as visual representations. However, there is a concerning tendency to overlook and marginalize artworks created by African American artists due to exclusionary curatorial and exhibition practices. This paper employs a digital humanities approach, incorporating mapping, metadata analysis, and theory to investigate the intricate migratory patterns of African American artworks. Utilizing mapping as an intervention and engagement tool this research creates a publicly accessible map featuring migratory routes, current locations, and detailed metadata on the artists and artwork, allowing the public to explore, engage with, and actively seek out these artworks. My methodology includes gathering and organizing data, and delving into information regarding African American artists, artworks, and migration patterns. This comprehensive approach is complemented by mapping software and theory on cultural representation, enabling the creation of a publicly accessible map. Posing three critical questions: What can the migration patterns of African American artwork reveal about ownership, transportation, and circulation in the art world? How can mapping be used to visualize these migration patterns while also making the artworks’ location publicly accessible? Do the migration patterns and (in)visibility of African American art reflect broader issues related to curatorial practices, exhibition strategies, and storytelling within museums?, this study explores the potentialities of using digital mapping to examine migration and display patterns of African American art within museum spaces.
Presenters
Mikayla BrownStudent, Ph.D. in Media and Communication, Temple University, Pennsylvania, United States
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
Museums, Representation, Digital Humanities, Inclusive, Mapping, African American
