Hi Amar,
My name is Sarah Magnatta and I will be speaking Wednesday morning at AAM re: Interpreting Sacred Art for Secular Audiences (9:45 session). My background is in Tibetan Buddhist art and I teach Buddhism in Art at the University of Denver; I would love to hear more about your project! I have time tomorrow (Tuesday)...hopefully we can work something out with your schedule. E-mail me at smagnatta@denverartmuseum.org.
Thanks!
Sarah
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Sarah Magnatta, PhD
Interpretive Specialist, Asian Art
Denver Art Museum
Affiliate Faculty, University of Denver
Denver CO
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Original Message:
Sent: 05-07-2017 09:39 AM
From: Amareswar Galla
Subject: Buddhism & Feminism and Cultural Futures : Co-Curating Amaravathi (India)
Dear Colleagues,
I am at the AAM to do a critical reflection on how much the discourse of inclusion has evolved since Baltimore 1992, when the AAM policy Excellence and Equity was the focus and Fred Wilson's Mining the Museum challenged the establishment. I have been involved in AAM for 25years. I am also the founding Chairperson of the International Research Network on the Inclusive Museum. http://onmuseums.com/2017-conference/program/amareswar-galla
However, I would be most grateful if anyone is interested in my current work and provide networking and inputs. I am working alongside the villagers of Amaravathi, South India, to address their heritage and development goals attuned to their culture and vision. Amaravathi is a sacred site and village in Andhra Pradesh Indian state, relating to Mahayana Buddhism, its birth and spread all over Asia. Dating back to 5th C BCE. The Amaravathi Heritage Town hosts significant Buddhist remains and importantly the people who speak Telugu and represent two millennia from the Satavahana Empire on. The town has been designated a new capital zone and as a heritage town with the support of the Indian Government. I am developing it as an ecomuseum of some 300 acres. I was born here and speak the local languages and dialects. I moved back here after 35 years in Australia and Denmark.
I am currently working on co-curating a major exhibition with the daughters-in-law of the village focussing on Buddhism & Feminism. There are 94 daughters-in-law, youngest 23 and oldest 98, in the curatorium. 43 are directly involved in content development and design. 5 are working full time. The total population of the village and its 19 hamlets is 27,600. It was once the second largest city in South India but now mostly in ruins.
I look forward to hearing from you. If there are any colleagues interested, we could meet one evening in the Conference hotel or somewhere else on Tuesday or Wednesday evening.
Warm Regards
Amar
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Prof. Amareswar Galla, PhD.
Executive Director, International Institute for the Inclusive Museum
(Chief Curator, Amaravathi Heritage Town & Bapu Museum, A.P & International Heritage Adviser, AP Govt. India)
Visiting Professor, History, Buddhist and Gender Studies, Acharya Nagarjuna University, AP; & Honorary Professor, Global Change Institute, University of Queensland, Brisbane)
Email. director@inclusivemuseum.org
Web. www.inclusivemuseum.org; Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/InclusiveMuseum
Twitter. http://twitter.com/InclusiveMuseum; Linkedin http://www.linkedin.com/groups/InclusiveMuseum-4635702
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'To believe in something and not practice it is a crime' Mahatma Gandhi
'Every day is a journey, and the journey itself is home' Matsuo Basho