Faculty of Arts in the Media: Rewriting Black American History in HKU Exhibition and Research
7 May 2016 (Saturday)
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| Source: SCMP |
Hong Kong will be the first international stop of an ambitious exhibition aimed at revising 400 years of American history, and the African American couple behind the show expect its focus on the historic misrepresentation of the black community will resonate with Chinese audiences.
The Kinsey Collection will be exhibited from December 9 at the University of Hong Kong’s museum...
Among the stories made up, according to Mr Kinsey, is the common belief that all African Americans were slaves in the early days.
“We have paintings from 1865 by professional African American artists. We have a document from the late 16th century showing that descendants from the Moors in Spain were among the first settlers, years before the English settled in Jamestown. They were not slaves,” he said.
The exhibition has been seen by five million people in 21 cities within the US, including Washington, where it was shown at the Smithsonian Institution. With the country’s first African American president soon to step down, the Kinseys feel there remains much work to be done to address racial stereotypes...
HKU’s American studies and African studies programmes would tailor-make courses based on the exhibits and conduct academic research, said Derek Collins, dean of the faculty of arts at HKU.
“We have paintings from 1865 by professional African American artists. We have a document from the late 16th century showing that descendants from the Moors in Spain were among the first settlers, years before the English settled in Jamestown. They were not slaves,” he said.
The exhibition has been seen by five million people in 21 cities within the US, including Washington, where it was shown at the Smithsonian Institution. With the country’s first African American president soon to step down, the Kinseys feel there remains much work to be done to address racial stereotypes...
HKU’s American studies and African studies programmes would tailor-make courses based on the exhibits and conduct academic research, said Derek Collins, dean of the faculty of arts at HKU.
Please click on the following link to access the original article on South China Morning Post:
http://www.scmp.com/culture/arts-entertainment/article/1941712/hong-kong-outing-exhibition-aims-rewrite-black-american