The public forum outlined below is free and open to the public. Seating will be on a first-come, first-served basis. Media are asked to call the contacts above to cover the sessions. It will be webcast live at si.edu/flashpoints.
Tuesday, April 26—Evening Program
Freer Gallery of Art, Meyer Auditorium
6 p.m.
Welcome to the Museum
Julian Raby, director, Freer and Sackler galleries, and senior art advisor, Smithsonian Institution
Welcome to the Forum
Wayne Clough, Secretary, Smithsonian Institution
Introduction
Richard Kurin, Under Secretary for History, Art and Culture, Smithsonian Institution
6:15 p.m.
Curation: Responsibilities, Constraints and Controversy
What is the public and professional responsibility of the curator in art, science, history and culture? What is included and excluded in exhibitions and why? Do curators and museums censor—how so? When does judgment become self-censorship? Should curators and museums address controversial subjects?
Moderator: Claudine Brown, Assistant Secretary for Education and Access, Smithsonian Institution
Kimberly Camp, CEO, Richland Public Facilities District, Hanford Reach Interpretive Center, and founding director, Smithsonian Experimental Gallery
Rick Potts, director, Human Evolution Program, National Museum of Natural History, and curator “Human Origins” exhibition
David C. Ward, historian, National Portrait Gallery, and co-curator of “Hide/Seek”
Public comments and Q&A
7:15 p.m.
Representing Sensitive Topics: Gender and Sexuality
What particular issues of curatorial responsibility have emerged with regard to representations of gender and sexuality in museums, including the recent “Hide/Seek” exhibition?
Moderator: Kinshasha Holman Conwill, deputy director, National Museum of African American History and Culture
Charles Francis, founder, Kameny Papers Project
Thom Collins, director, Miami Art Museum
Jonathan Katz, chair, Visual Studies at SUNY Buffalo and co-curator of “Hide/Seek”
Karen Milbourne, curator, National Museum of African Art
8:25 p.m.
What Does the Public Think?
Public questions and comments for panelists and senior staff
Wednesday, April 27
Freer Gallery of Art, Meyer Auditorium
9:30 a.m.
Welcome and Introduction
Johnnetta Cole, director, National Museum of African Art
Curation: Listening to Artists, Scientists, Public Figures, Cultural Communities
What is the role of the curator vis-à-vis the artist and the presentation of work? What is the role of the curator in presenting scientific findings? To what extent do public figures have a say in how they are presented? How do we listen to cultural communities and account for their sensibilities and sensitivities?
Moderator: Johnnetta Cole, director, National Museum of African Art
Kerry Brougher, deputy director and chief curator, Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden
Tim Johnson, associate director for Museum Programs, National Museum of the American Indian
Cristián Samper, director, National Museum of Natural History
Commentator: Blake Gopnik, art and design critic for Newsweek and its website, The Daily Beast
Public comments, Q&A and break
10:50 a.m.
Exhibitions in National Museums and Public Institutions
What are the special characteristics of national and public museums with regard to sensitive topics/treatments and controversial issues? Should there be? How do politics affect curation? What accountability do curators, museum directors and boards have, and to whom?
Moderator: Ellen McCulloch-Lovell, president, Marlboro College, and former executive director, Save America’s Treasures
Frank Hodsoll, principal, Hodsoll and Associates, and former chairman, National Endowment for the Arts
Bill Ivey, director, Curb Center, Vanderbilt University, and former chair, National Endowment for the Arts
Ford Bell, president, American Association of Museums
Public comments and Q&A
Noon
Break/Lunch
1:30 p.m.
Museum Stakeholders and Curation
What stakes and roles do funders, boards, critics, museum audiences and other constituents have in curation? How specific are those roles with regard to influencing, approving, supporting exhibitions?
Moderator: Elizabeth Duggal, associate director, External Affairs and Public Programs, National Museum of Natural History
Jeffrey Cunard, member of the board of trustees at the Freer and Sackler galleries
Ann Hamilton, artist and member, board of trustees, Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden
Henry Muñoz, chair, Commission for the National Museum of the American Latino
Jed Perl, art critic, The New Republic
Commentator: Kaywin Feldman, director and president, Minneapolis Institute of Art, and president, Association of Art Museum Directors
Public comments, Q&A and break
2:40 p.m.
Concluding Thoughts
Lonnie Bunch, director, National Museum of African American History and Culture
Martin Sullivan,director, National Portrait Gallery
Thanks and Going Forward
Richard Kurin
ACRAH 