About this event

Conversation@PAM: Community Museums for Contemporary Times

Free | RSVP Required

Throughout history, museums evolved to meet the needs of their public and the communities they served.

What did this mean for an institution like the USC Pacific Asia Museum? This question gained particular relevance at a time when AAPI communities were hurting and asking for greater access to, and representation in, the very objects and histories that the museum collected and exhibited.

Melody Rodari, Assistant Professor of Art History at Loyola Marymount University, explored the possibilities for the USC Pacific Asia Museum to become a community museum for contemporary times.

More about the Exhibition:

As USC PAM celebrated its 50th anniversary, the museum looked to the future by asking questions and reflecting on its past, as embodied in the museum’s collection and display of Asian and Pacific Island art. For whom was this collection created, and how did its meaning change when seen through the eyes of diverse communities? Intervention: Fresh Perspectives after 50 Years found new ways to view the USC PAM permanent collection through the work of seven contemporary Asian diasporic artists: Antonius Bui, Audrey Chan, Jennifer Ling Datchuk, Amir Fallah, Akiko Jackson, Alan Nakagawa, and kate-hers RHEE. By creating original artworks in response to PAM’s collection, these artists reminded visitors that USC PAM’s history was complex, and that the public had many ways to consider this story beyond how it was presented in galleries, websites, and printed materials.

For questions or to request accommodations for the event, participants were encouraged to contact Cristina Hernandez-Guerrero at ch45852@usc.edu. For additional information, they were invited to visit https://pacificasiamuseum.usc.edu/

All guests were required to show proof of vaccination and complete a health screening prior to admission. Guests were expected to comply with health and safety protocols. Face coverings worn over the nose and mouth were required except for children two years old or younger. Masks with vents were not acceptable.