GLAADH Newsletter

Issue number 2, November 2001

 

 

 

Contents

 

 

 

 

 

Overview

 

We are very pleased to present the second issue of the GLAADH e-newsletter. This comes at a special time for the GLAADH community in the run up to our Workshop in November. As the first opportunity for the core of project participants to meet, the event looks set to be an exciting one, with a special program of sessions led by a team of dynamic speakers.

 

It’s also an exciting time for exhibitions and events of interest to GLAADH. For details on events from Japan 2001, photography in India and Black History Month, to fresh directions in exhibiting aspects of Latin America, see the brief summary below or go to www.glaadh.ac.uk/info.htm.

 

 

News

 

During what might otherwise be slower months in the academic calendar, the GLAADH team spent the summer hard at work. August saw the launch of the GLAADH e-newsletter (www.glaadh.ac.uk/newsletters.htm), which was well received and thanks to its electronic form, widely circulated. The project also published on-line an overview of the GLAADH site visits (www.glaadh.ac.uk/survey.htm), raising the profile of the project and its participants, and stimulating discussion in the national press (see below).

 

In September, key members of the GLAADH Community received invitations on the forthcoming Workshop, and we anticipate a strong attendance going by their warm response. The project web site also began to grow, as new sections appeared, ranging from bibliographies and teaching outlines to detailed listings of events.  

 

And finally…

Readers of The Guardian may have noticed our very own GLAADH project making a splash in a recent investigative piece on the state of Art, Architecture and Design History across UK universities. Prompted by Prince William’s entry to the world of art history, the paper set out to report on the cultural mix of student numbers, the curriculum and life after graduation for today’s art historian. Find the full story at http://www.guardian.co.uk/Archive/Article/0,4273,4258595,00.html

 

 

Looking ahead

 

Letters of invitation have been sent out to the core of GLAADH participants for our Workshop at the University of Sussex on 9th-10th November. These include one member of staff from every art history department in Britain. With our financial support, staff are welcome to attend an informal forum to address some of the issues raised by colleagues during the GLAADH site visits.

 

The Workshop will combine presentations on practical and theoretical matters relevant to integrating into the curriculum the arts of less traditionally studied cultures and communities. Three key strands cover: ‘Resources’, ‘Diversifying the Curriculum’, and ‘Context and Histories in Teaching’. For further details or to discuss the possibility of taking part, please contact Norma Rosso, GLAADH Project Research Manager, University of Sussex at N.Rosso@sussex.ac.uk   

 

 

www.glaadh.ac.uk

 

The web-based aspect of GLAADH is already a strong part of our dissemination plans and teaching support. As a one-stop resource for information and initiatives toward a diverse curriculum, the site houses bibliographies, detailed listings on exhibitions, talks and conferences, and course outlines.

 

During the coming months the web-site will take on some fresh dimensions, including: a detailed events guide; electronic links to teaching and learning resources; profiles of related projects and initiatives; digital image gateway; the GLAADH specialist support network; a round up on our November workshop; newsletter archives, and news and announcements from the GLAADH Community.

 

 

Conferences and events

 

‘India: Pioneering Photographers 1850-1900’ at the Brunei Gallery, Thornhaugh Street, London WC1H 0XG offers a major exhibition of Indian photography of this period, drawn from two important collections, the British Library’s Oriental and India Office Collections and the Howard and Jane Ricketts Collection. For more details of this and on evening lectures accompanying the show, presented by Asia House, see http://www.soas.ac.uk/Brunei/India/home.html

 

Current and shortly forthcoming events at The Oriental Museum, University of Durham include: ‘East North East: Contemporary Printmaking from Japan’, October 1st to November 4th, as part of the Japan 2001 Festival and in association with The Northern Print Studio; from November 7th to end January 2002, ‘Tibet: a prison without walls’, a photographic exhibition of Tibetan monastic life, and ‘Contemporary Thangka Painting: modern Tibetan meditational paintings by Ang Tsherin Sherpa. Contact K.M.Excell@durham.ac.uk at The Oriental Museum, Elvet Hill, Durham for more details.

 

In conjunction with Japan 2001, the School of Art and Design History at Kingston University presents ‘Sex and Consumerism: Contemporary Art in Japan’, bringing together the work of eight artists living and working in Japan, dealing with issues of gender, sexuality and commerce. The exhibition begins its eight month tour at The University of Brighton Gallery, Grand Parade, Brighton until 31st October 2001, before moving on to the Aberystwyth Arts Centre, University College Wales, Penglais, Aberystwyth from 1st December 2001 to 2nd February 2002, followed by other venues.

 

The Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge currently presents ‘Heroes and Artists: Brazilian Popular Art’ (2 October - 9 December, Adeane Gallery). The exhibition looks at the extraordinary world of bandits, religion and daily life in the backlands of Brazil, including objects used by 'cangaceiros' (bandits of the Brazilian backlands during the early twentieth century), clay and wooden figurines of everyday life, popular prints and works by major Brazilian artists. A series of events, including gallery talks, storytelling, music and rhythm workshops accompanies the exhibition. For more details contact the Education Department on 01223 332993.

 

From 25 – 27 October the Institute of Latin American Studies, UCL London and the British Museum will host ‘Fashioning Brazil: Behind visitors’ eyes in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries’, coinciding with the British Museum exhibition, ‘Unknown Amazon’ (www.thebritishmuseum.ac.uk). The conference will open with the British Museum’s Fagg Lecture, and proceed with panels at ILAS. For more details and registration go to: http://www.sas.ac.uk/ilas/sem_fashioningbrazil.htm

 

 

Call for papers

 

Paper proposals are invited for the 28th Association of Art Historians Annual Conference, titled ‘Culture: Capital: Colony’ (4-7th April 2002, University of Liverpool) on the special session, ‘Collecting the Colony: Contemporary thoughts on imperial histories’. Session convenors Professor Partha Mitter and Judith Green. Proposals are welcomed for papers addressing any aspect of collecting within a colonial context. See www.aah.org.uk for further details or contact: Judith Green, History of Art, Graduate Research Centre in Humanities, University of Sussex, J.Green@sussex.ac.uk

 

 

Related projects and initiatives

 

A major new organization, the Archives and Museum of Black Heritage (AMBH), is currently undertaking a programme of outreach and education, cataloguing, research and exhibitions to promote and support understanding of the long-established black diaspora presence in Britain. AMBH will also present the exhibition ‘Tools of the Trade: Black British Hairdressing’, which documents the development of hairdressing within Britain’s black community from 1950 to the present. Exhibition opens 19th October to 18th December at the Black Cultural Archives Gallery. Contact: Carol Tulloch, Curator, tel: 020 7926 1060, info@aambh.org.uk. See also the jointly organised AMBH and V&A study day (listings above).

 

The Visual Arts Data Service (VADS) is pleased to announce the addition of nearly 2000 digital images from the African and Asian Visual Artists Archive (AAVAA), housed at the University of East London. The archive offers the most comprehensive collection of slides of contemporary visual art by artists of African and Asian descent working in the UK since the post-war period. AAVAA is searchable on-line at http://vads.ahds.ac.uk

 

 

Feedback?

 

If you have any questions or comments about any aspect of GLAADH, please don’t hesitate to contact Norma Rosso, Project Manager, at N.Rosso@sussex.ac.uk. Contributions to this newsletter should go to Newsletter Editor and Project Research Officer, Leon Wainwright, at L.Wainwright@mdx.ac.uk.

As always, further details on all aspects of the GLAADH newsletter can be found at www.glaadh.ac.uk


Finally, a great many thanks to all those who have already lent their time and support to GLAADH, and helped us make such a promising start to what will continue to be a rewarding project.