We caught up with Nicole Smythe-Johnson a writer, researcher and independent curator, living in and working from Kingston Jamaica. Nicole will be presenting at the upcoming 27th Annual General Meeting and Conference of the Museums Association of the Caribbean (MAC) at the National Gallery of the Cayman Islands (NGCI) this month. Her topic, The Independent Curator as Relationship Broker- the case of Myers Fletcher & Gordon Attorneys-at-Law.
- What do you consider to be the biggest opportunity for museums in the Caribbean?
We always think about the relative youth of our museums and institutions as a drawback, but I think it presents us with an opportunity to really create, to really respond to contemporary audiences and circumstances, without the weight of institutional history and the stifle of “how it’s always been done”. Also, partnerships, partnerships, partnerships!!!
- If you could describe your work in one word what would it be?
messianic
- What makes museums essential to your community?
“Identity without self-awareness is a contradiction in terms; and self-awareness requires the foundations of a strong archival tradition.” Source | © Ufahamu Journal, 1989
For me, the museum is the home of the archive.
- Can you share one of your favourite moments of working in the cultural and heritage sector?
One evening I was leaving the National Gallery of Jamaica (NGJ) and some kids were playing on a sculpture in front of the museum. They were climbing all over it, hitting it, kid stuff. I said “careful guys, it’s a piece of art, we have to take care of it.” One of the little girls jumped off immediately and shouted at the others “unnu come off! is a art!”
- What was the last picture you took with your phone?
My fortune according to a cookie- “the cure for grief is motion”
Visit Nicole’s website to learn more about her work – Click here.