Addressing the Statue: Museums, Monuments, & Race
What is the meaning of a statue? What do our monuments celebrate, and how do we confront the legacies of racial injustice that are propagated by public art? This session explores how the American Museum of Natural History addressed the controversial equestrian statue of Theodore Roosevelt accompanied by a Native man and an African man that sits on its front steps (and is now slated for removal) through conversations, film, and an exhibition. The Museum’s approaches to rethinking cultural representation serve as a springboard to discuss how cultural institutions and communities are reevaluating public monuments across the country.
Programming descriptions are generated by participants and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of SXSW.
Reniqua Allen-Lamphere
Independent
Bella Desai
American Museum of Natural History
Lauri Halderman
American Museum of Natural History
Monique Scott
Bryn Mawr College
Mabel O Wilson
Columbia University