TALK WITH EXPERTS FROM SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION (USA)
16 Nov 15
YARAT Contemporary Art Space Education department is happy to host a presentation by a group of experts from Smithsonian Institution (USA) 16 November 2016 in YARAT Centre.
The presentation by Paul Michael Taylor, Trevor Merrion and Jarred Koller includes a brief history of the Smithsonian Institution (the world’s largest museum complex), and an explanation of its organization and an overview of the 19 museums of many types (art museums, history museums, science museums, etc.) that comprise the Smithsonian with an added examples of national "Cultural Centers" and "International Centers" such as Meridian International Center (Washington, D.C.). Along with a general introduction to the history and activities of the Smithsonian Institution, the presentation will also mention internships & scholarships, and the Asian Cultural History Program’s past work with Azerbaijan.
The presentation is organized in partnership with American Embassy in Baku.
Paul Michael Taylor, a research anthropologist at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History, is Director of that museum's Asian Cultural History Program, and serves as Curator of Asian, European, and Middle Eastern Ethnology. He has written numerous books and scholarly articles on the ethnography, ethnobiology, languages, and art (or material culture) of Asia, especially Indonesia. He has also curated seventeen museum exhibitions, and served as the consulting anthropologist for five documentary anthropological films. The recipient of numerous international grants and awards, he has served on the Board of Directors of the Association for Asian Studies, and has been a longtime member of the Smithsonian’s Asian-Pacific American Heritage Committee. As head of a Virtual Museum project, he oversaw the successful development of collection digitization efforts in Indonesia and the Philippines. His work with museum professionals from many countries includes an "International Partnership among Museums" award from the American Association of Museums for a virtual exhibition project with the National Museum of Saudi Arabia.
Trevor Merrion is an anthropologist and museum specialist in the Asian Cultural History Program (ACHP) at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History. He has co-authored several publications on the art traditions of Turkmenistan and most recently co-authored the publication Undiscovered Art from the Korean War: Explorations in the Collection of the Dr. Chester and Wanda Chang. He also serves as webmaster for the ACHP, currently developing a virtual archive of correspondence by a 19th-century ethnographic and biological collector, W.L. Abbott. He received his BA in anthropology from the University of Virginia in 2010.
Jared Koller received a BA in Anthropology-Archaeology at the University of New Mexico and an MA in History and New Media from George Mason University. He is now a PhD candidate at Boston University. Jared has participated in projects in the Philippines, Indonesia, Jordan, and the eastern United States. Prior to coming to Boston, Jared was a researcher at the Smithsonian’s Asian Cultural History Program. His current research focuses on Southeast Asian archaeology, landscape archaeology, GIS, 3D visualizations, and the archaeology of sound.
The Smithsonian Institution (/smɪθˈsoʊniən/ smith-soe-nee-ən), established in 1846 "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge", is a group of museums and research centers administered by the Government of the United States. Originally organized as the "United States National Museum", that name ceased to exist as an administrative entity in 1967. Termed "the nation's attic" for its eclectic holdings of 138 million items, the Institution's Washington, D.C., nucleus of nineteen museums, nine research centers, and zoo—many of them historical or architectural landmarks — is the largest such complex in the world. Additional facilities are located in Arizona, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York City, Virginia, Panama and elsewhere, and 168 other museums are Smithsonian Affiliates. The Institution's thirty million annual visitors are admitted without charge; funding comes from the Institution's own endowment, private and corporate contributions, membership dues, government support, and retail, concession and licensing revenues. Institution publications include Smithsonian and Air & Space magazines.
Presentation will be English with translation to Azeri
Date: November 16, 2015
Time: 19:00-20:30
Venue: YARAT Contemporary Art Centre
Bayil district, near the National Flag Square
Free admission
