Namita Aggarwal

I have never been so thrilled or honored to be part of the creation of such an amazing project. The actual content of the Southern Sudanese artwork speaks for itself. It is great that our class had the opportunity to raise consciousness as to the tragedies of the past in order that we may alleviate the situations of the present and future. To everyone involved, job well done.

In terms of creation process, I never truly realized the extent of work that must be put into an exhibit. For captions - what to write, where to put them, how to print them, who will do each, etc. For the artwork itself - where to hang it, how to hang it, stretch it or unstretch it, etc. For the exhibit gallery - where will people enter, will it be a forced march into the gallery, how will we capture people's attention, etc. These were just some of the questions raised through the development process. Overall, what I have realized is that collaborative efforts are crucial when it comes to the design, creation, and placement of an exhibit.

In terms of sensitivity, our class did a great job in understanding perspectives. Much of the captions incorporated firsthand accounts of what the paintings actually meant. Every step of the way, we tried to be sensitive to the already sensitive topic of genocide. Exclusion, ignorance, biased views, etc. were never an issue with us. That speaks a great deal about the people you are, so I'd like to compliment everyone for the care, concern, and compassion used throughout the creation process.

In terms of my own contributions, I don't feel like I was very hands on with anything. I signed up for committees in order to be part of something but never really had much say in the development process. As odd as it is, this is how I would have liked my first experience with creating an exhibit to be: stepping back, observing, listening, and most importantly learning.

To end, the opening was a great success. I certainly am thrilled for our potential website, catalogue, and/or audio tour. It will be great to continue work on such an important issue.

Also, the song in Dinka - its meaning and the voices accompanied, was beautifully done and really touching.






This website has been developed by the Museums and Public Memory (Anth 159a) class taught by Professor Mark Auslander at Brandeis University. Images have been reproduced with the permission of the African Refugee Artists Club.