‘Museums are institutions that carry a lot of systemic baggage from their colonial origins, but they are vital public spaces to reconsider how we connect and contend with one another,’ says Ngaire Blankenberg
Ngaire Blankenberg is to head up the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African Art in Washington, D.C. The consultant ‘has advised clients on strategies for decolonization, concept development, operations and business planning, programming, stakeholder and public engagement and more’ according to the museum; recent clients include the National Gallery of Canada and Superblue.
Blankenberg will take up the role following the departure of Gus Casely-Hayford, appointed director of London’s V&A East in 2019. ‘Museums are institutions that carry a lot of systemic baggage from their colonial origins, but they are vital public spaces to reconsider how we connect and contend with one another and the planet, and where we can redefine, heal and reconcile,’ Blankenberg said in a statement.
‘The National Museum of African Art sits physically in a city with one of the biggest populations of African peoples in the US. Digitally it reaches far into the diaspora. I am so grateful for the trust being placed in me to continue to care for, build, interpret and share NMAfA’s fantastic collection, particularly in this new era of US-African relations.’
