The (Impossible) Decolonization of the Western Museum

Talk

WHEN November 23, 2022
6:30-8 PM WHERE NYUAD Campus, Conference Center WHO NYU Abu Dhabi Institute Open to the Public

For decades now, the “universal museum,” an institution invented in Western Europe, has been challenged, and its decolonization has become a subject of debate within the institution itself. Yet, Françoise Vergès argues that the decolonization of the Western museum is impossible if we adopt Frantz Fanon’s remark that "Decolonization is a program of absolute disorder” (1961). In this conversation, Vergès retraces the connection between collecting and colonialism, explores the capacity of neoliberalism to commodify critiques, and presents the project of a “museum without objects” and different decolonial practices of the arts.

Speakers
  • Françoise Vergès, Political Scientist, Historian and Curator; Author of "A Feminist Theory of Violence: A Decolonial Perspective" (Pluto Press, 2022)
In conversation with
  • Katia Arfara, Curator; Assistant Professor of Theater, Performance Studies, NYUAD

In Collaboration with

NYUAD Global Crossroads

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