Did you know there was a Zoological and Anthropological Museum at Smith College?
I hadn’t until I began my investigation into the collecting histories at Smith College Museum of Art. Initially interested in continuing my research on the underdeveloped object files Native American pieces in SCMA’s collection, I encountered even larger acts of erasure in Smith’s institutional memory. Museums have a responsibility to be transparent and accountable to their visitors, and this project explores one way SCMA can confront difficult collection histories. By investigating two objects in SCMA’s Native American category, I invite you to contend with moments of institutional racism, repatriation, and other characteristics that might label them as “Difficult Objects.”
Image Credit
Images from Smith College Archives and taken by Isabel Cordova.
Icons by various artists from the Noun Project. Names listed below:
