Museums: Race, Diversity & Institutional Change

November 4, 5:30pm - 7:00pm
Kana‘ina Building,‘Iolani Palace Grounds

Friday, Nov. 4th, 2016, 5:30-7:00 p.m.
Kana‘ina Building,‘Iolani Palace Grounds

What is structural racism? How does it prevent us from achieving true diversity among our staff, boards, and audiences, and in our programs?

This panel discussion is inspired by programs at previous museum conferences. At the American Alliance of Museums (AAM) annual meeting in 2015, the response was overwhelming to a session about the killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson, MO. It eventually led to a regional discussion about related topics at the Western Museum Association (WMA) conference last month.

To continue the national momentum, please join us on November 4, 2016, at 5:30 p.m., to hear perspectives on structural racism and diversity from three museum professionals. Noelle M.K.Y. Kahanu will report on her participation on the WMA panel, Museums & Race 2016, and share her observations from working in the local museum community; Kathy Suter will draw on her experiences at the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian, and ideas about how the Hawai‘i Museums Association and its members may facilitate the dialogue on change; and Kippen de Alba Chu will describe efforts by AAM to provide guidance to museums for implementing structural changes. Audience participation is welcomed!

This event will be the first in a series of three discussions over the next six months. The mission of the series is to start a conversation about racism and diversity in our organizations and institutions, and within ourselves. Please visit our webpage for more information. 

Webpage: http://www.museum.hawaii.edu/museums-race-diversity-and-institutional-change/

Panelists: 
Noelle M. K. Y. Kahanu
Assistant Specialist, Public Humanities/Native Hawaiian Programs, Department of American Studies, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa

As a Native Hawaiian writer/poet/artist/scholar with 15 years of program and exhibition experience at the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum, Noelle remains active in the Native Hawaiian visual arts community as an artist, curator, and arts organizer. She is deeply interested in how issues of privilege and racism persist, even when diversity is seemingly achieved. (Photo credit: Kapulani Landgraf) 

Kathy Suter
President, Hawaiʻi Museums Association  Kathy Suter retired from the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian in 2012 after 12 years of designing and producing exhibit media. She is now the President of the Hawaiʻi Museums Association and lives on the Big Island. 

Kippen de Alba Chu
Executive Director, ʻIolani Palace Kippen has been with ʻIolani Palace for 10 years. He currently serves on the board of directors for the American Alliance of Museums, Friends of Hawaiʻi Robotics, Hawaiʻi Alliance of Nonprofit Organizations, and is the immediate past president of the Western Museums Association. 

Moderator: 
Karen K. Kosasa, Director, Museum Studies Graduate Certificate Program, Associate Professor, Department of American Studies, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa

Contact:
Karen Kosasa or Kristin Remington, museum@hawai.edu or Stacy Hoshino (808-469-4551), shoshino@hihumanities.org

Sponsors:
  Museum Studies Graduate Certificate Program, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Hawaiʻi Museums Association  Friends of ʻIolani Palace Hawaiʻi Council for the Humanities 

Parking:
  Paid metered parking is available on ʻIolani Palace grounds; free after 6 p.m. Additional parking is available in the surrounding downtown Honolulu area (parking rates may apply). Please read posted signs carefully and take note of TOW AWAY information.


Ticket Information
This event is free and open to the public

Event Sponsor
Museum Studies Graduate Certificate Program, Department of American Studies, Mānoa Campus

More Information
Dr. Karen Kosasa , 956-8570, museum@hawaii.edu, http://www.museum.hawaii.edu/museums-race-diversity-and-institutional-change/

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