Ngaire Blankenberg

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Ngaire Blankenberg (born 1971or1972 [1] ) is a Canadian-born South African museum designer, consultant, and administrator. [2] She is a former director of the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art.

Contents

Early life and education

Blankenberg's parents are South African and she was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba. [1] Her mother is White and her father is Coloured (and albino); they had relocated to Canada as their interracial marriage was illegal in South Africa at that time. [1] [3] She earned a journalism degree from Carleton University and worked for 12 years in television and documentaries, including a year as a videographer on the CBC newsmagazine series Road Movies , [4] before moving to South Africa to study media and cultural studies, earning a masters degree from the University of Natal. [3] [5] She moved back to Canada and began working as a museum designer and consultant. [3]

Museum career

Blankenberg has worked with the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa, Superblue Miami, the museum at Constitution Hill, Johannesburg, and the Canadian Museum for Human Rights in Winnipeg. [6] [7] She is noted for her expertise in developing decolonization plans for cultural institutions as well as concept development and public engagement. [5]

Blankenberg has worked as a consultant with Dutch design firm Kossmann.dejong and with Toronto-based Lord Cultural Resources, where she was principal consultant. [8] [9] In 2016, along with Lord co-founder Gail Lord, she co-edited Cities, Museums and Soft Power for the American Alliance of Museums. [9] Lord and Blankenberg argued that the concept of soft power should be expanded from the political sphere to include "cultural and urban life." [9]

From 2021 until 2023, she was the director of the National Museum of African Art in Washington, D.C. [6] When she was appointed director on July 7, 2021, she announced her ambition to "redefine, heal and reconcile". [5] During her tenure, Blankenberg was a leading advocate for repatriation of artifacts in the museum's collection, [10] and in 2022 the museum returned 29 looted Benin Bronzes to Nigeria. [11] Blankenberg resigned from her position on March 31, 2023, citing "individual and institutional resistance". [6]

Following her resignation, Blankenberg returned to South Africa. [12]

Selected publications

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References

  1. 1 2 3 Nolen, Stephanie (23 September 2005). "Giving voice to the people through art". The Globe and Mail . Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  2. ↑ Murphy, Adrian (14 January 2022). "The people behind museums: Ngaire Blankenberg, Director, Smithsonian National Museum of African Art". MuseumNext. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  3. 1 2 3 Bowden, Alexander (14 July 2017). "The Museum Series: The Consultant". The Bowden Report. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  4. ↑ Bill Anderson, "In Road Movies, CBC lets youths tell own tales; Network gets fresh viewpoints - and a TV series for $100,000 an episode". Montreal Gazette , July 17, 1992.
  5. 1 2 3 "Ngaire Blankenberg to Lead National Museum of African Art". Artforum . 7 July 2021. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  6. 1 2 3 Boucher, Brian (10 May 2023). "The Smithsonian National Museum of African Art's Director Has Resigned After Less Than Two Years, Citing 'Resistance and Backlash'". Artnet News . Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  7. ↑ Manaleng, Palesa (15 September 2022). "Constitution Hill hosts 10-day racial reckoning art experience". Eyewitness News . Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  8. ↑ Tremayne-Pengelly, Alexandra (11 May 2023). "National Museum of African Art Director Ngaire Blankenberg Quietly Resigns". Observer . Retrieved 12 May 2023.
  9. 1 2 3 Molho, Jérémie (19 October 2016). "Review of "Cities, Museums and Soft Power," by Gail Lord and Ngaire Blankenberg". The Journal of Arts Management, Law, and Society. 46 (5): 300–302. doi:10.1080/10632921.2016.1194793. ISSN   1063-2921. S2CID   152155287.
  10. ↑ McGlone, Peggy (27 July 2022). "Human bones, stolen art: Smithsonian tackles its 'problem' collections". Washington Post . Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  11. ↑ Germain, Jacquelyne (October 11, 2022). "The Smithsonian Returns a Trove of Benin Bronzes to Nigeria". Smithsonian Magazine . Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  12. ↑ Stoilas, Helen (9 May 2023). "The Smithsonian's National Museum of African Art is looking for a new director—again". The Art Newspaper . Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  13. ↑ Reviews of Cities, Museums and Soft Power:
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