ROM to apologize for 1989 Africa exhibit as new one opens
Posted November 9, 2016 11:10 am.
Last Updated November 10, 2016 1:12 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
The Royal Ontario Museum is set to apologize for its 1989 exhibit, Into the Heart of Africa.
A formal apology will be made at the museum later on Wednesday, a museum spokesperson told CityNews.
The exhibit was the target of protests for its depiction of Africa and its focus on white missionaries.
It was so offensive and culturally insensitive it is now used as a teaching tool for people who want to work at museums. It is studied at Columbia and the University of Toronto, to name two universities.
The apology comes as the ROM is in the midst of its current Of Africa exhibit.
That exhibit, three years in the making, is curated by Julie Crooks and Dominique Fontaine.
One of the goals of Of Africa is to be multiplatform. Not only does the exhibit include displays like maps, it also includes spoken word and dance performances, lectures and films.
The map display, called Maps, Borders, and Mobility in Africa, looked at the borders imposed on Africa at the 1884 Berlin conference.
Correction: A previous version of this article said the current exhibit is Of Africa: Histories Collections Reflections exhibit. It is called Of Africa.
