Reimagining Heritage, Archives and Museums: Today/Tomorrow Day 1 – The Curator’s Address by Ngaire Blankenberg

The Reimagining Heritage, Archives and Museums: Today/Tomorrow convening took place from 13th to 15th February 2024 at the Homecoming Centre in Cape Town.

Ngaire Blankenberg is the Founding Director of the Institute for Creative Repair. She co-curated the convening programme alongside Emmanuel Kasarhérou, who is President of the Musée du quai Branly – Jacques Chirac in Paris, France; with the curatorial assistance of Kefiloe Siwisa and feedback from a steering committee comprising 28 stakeholders from across Africa and Europe.

Blankenberg’s address emphasised the circumstances of global politics and the role of museums in preserving the present and creating not only history but also memory and the healing journey. Sharing her history with museums, Blankenberg highlighted that museums are spaces for individuals, communities, their families and ancestors, and global knowledge schemas. Museums give us all the opportunity to remember, reflect, and create a better world that learns from the full story of history.

Watch the curator’s address below to get the full picture of the personal and political complexities that underlie the responsibilities of this sector and of the long road we have ahead as we engage in creative repair: