Ngaire Blankenberg

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Ngaire Blankenberg (born 1971 or 1972[1]) is a Canadian-born South African museum designer, consultant, and administrator.[2] She is a former director of the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art.

Early life and education[edit]

Blankenberg's parents are South African and she was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba.[1] Her mother is White and her father is Coloured (and albino); they had relocated to Canada as their interracial marriage was illegal in South Africa at that time.[1][3] She earned a journalism degree from Carleton University and worked for 12 years in television and documentaries, including a year as a videographer on the CBC newsmagazine series Road Movies,[4] before moving to South Africa to study media and cultural studies, earning a masters degree from the University of Natal.[3][5] She moved back to Canada and began working as a museum designer and consultant.[3]

Museum career[edit]

Blankenberg has worked with the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa, Superblue Miami, the museum at Constitution Hill, Johannesburg, and the Canadian Museum for Human Rights in Winnipeg.[6][7] She is noted for her expertise in developing decolonization plans for cultural institutions as well as concept development and public engagement.[5]

Blankenberg has worked as a consultant with Dutch design firm Kossmann.dejong and with Toronto-based Lord Cultural Resources, where she was principal consultant.[8][9] In 2016, along with Lord co-founder Gail Lord, she co-edited Cities, Museums and Soft Power for the American Alliance of Museums.[9] Lord and Blankenberg argued that the concept of soft power should be expanded from the political sphere to include "cultural and urban life."[9]

From 2021 until 2023, she was the director of the National Museum of African Art in Washington, D.C.[6] When she was appointed director on July 7, 2021, she announced her ambition to "redefine, heal and reconcile".[5] During her tenure, Blankenberg was a leading advocate for repatriation of artifacts in the museum's collection,[10] and in 2022 the museum returned 29 looted Benin Bronzes to Nigeria.[11] Blankenberg resigned from her position on March 31, 2023, citing "individual and institutional resistance".[6]

Following her resignation, Blankenberg returned to South Africa.[12]

Selected publications[edit]

  • Blankenberg, Ngaire (2000). "That rare and random tribe: Albino identity in South Africa". Critical Arts. 14 (2): 6–48. doi:10.1080/02560040085310081. ISSN 0256-0046. S2CID 144647842.
  • Lord, Gail Dexter; Blankenberg, Ngaire, eds. (8 July 2016). Cities, Museums and Soft Power. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 978-1-4422-7677-2.[13]
  • Hossaini, Ali; Blankenberg, Ngaire, eds. (27 March 2017). Manual of Digital Museum Planning. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 978-1-4422-7897-4.

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c Nolen, Stephanie (23 September 2005). "Giving voice to the people through art". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  2. ^ Murphy, Adrian (14 January 2022). "The people behind museums: Ngaire Blankenberg, Director, Smithsonian National Museum of African Art". MuseumNext. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  3. ^ a b c Bowden, Alexander (14 July 2017). "The Museum Series: The Consultant". The Bowden Report. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  4. ^ Bill Anderson, "In Road Movies, CBC lets youths tell own tales; Network gets fresh viewpoints - and a TV series for $100,000 an episode". Montreal Gazette, July 17, 1992.
  5. ^ a b c "Ngaire Blankenberg to Lead National Museum of African Art". Artforum. 7 July 2021. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  6. ^ a b c Boucher, Brian (10 May 2023). "The Smithsonian National Museum of African Art's Director Has Resigned After Less Than Two Years, Citing 'Resistance and Backlash'". Artnet News. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  7. ^ Manaleng, Palesa (15 September 2022). "Constitution Hill hosts 10-day racial reckoning art experience". Eyewitness News. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  8. ^ Tremayne-Pengelly, Alexandra (11 May 2023). "National Museum of African Art Director Ngaire Blankenberg Quietly Resigns". Observer. Retrieved 12 May 2023.
  9. ^ a b c Molho, Jérémie (19 October 2016). "Review of "Cities, Museums and Soft Power," by Gail Lord and Ngaire Blankenberg". The Journal of Arts Management, Law, and Society. 46 (5): 300–302. doi:10.1080/10632921.2016.1194793. ISSN 1063-2921. S2CID 152155287.
  10. ^ McGlone, Peggy (27 July 2022). "Human bones, stolen art: Smithsonian tackles its 'problem' collections". Washington Post. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  11. ^ Germain, Jacquelyne (October 11, 2022). "The Smithsonian Returns a Trove of Benin Bronzes to Nigeria". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  12. ^ Stoilas, Helen (9 May 2023). "The Smithsonian's National Museum of African Art is looking for a new director—again". The Art Newspaper. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  13. ^ Reviews of Cities, Museums and Soft Power:
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