Frost Art Museum presents exhibitions to express international empathy

By: Victor Jorges/Staff Writer

 

In order to reflect the university’s “Worlds Ahead” vision more closely, the Phillip and Patricia Frost Art Museum is making an effort to include more international exhibits in 2019, delineating issues of humanity and social justice.

“First and foremost, we are an academic museum. We are part of the campus of FIU. We are here to serve the students,” said Amy Galpin, curator at the Phillip and Patricia Frost Art Museum. “We want to be in line with the mission and goals of the students.”

“Asian Crossroads”, curated by Brian Dursum, is an academic and historical exhibit, displays different ceramic artifacts from various Asian territories. It will feature a lot of three dimensional objects from southeast Asia. This exhibition is the result from a project of observing the permanent collection of around 6,000 works. The artifacts are all related to the maritime silk road.

“A lot of people associate the asian silk route with a land path, and not a maritime route. A lot of the ceramics would be uncovered in shipwrecks. Religion was passed by the silk road, the exchange of ideas and cultures,” said Galpin. “That show is definitely fitting within a global initiative. This past summer we had work on view from India, this fall we had a Caribbean exhibition.”

Although Galpin did not curate this exhibition, she feels as though it does relate to the current political climate between the United States and China.

“When we have these tense political conversations around the issue of trade between the United States and China, there is still a historic notion across the Asian continent,” said Galpin. “There is a desire to be relevant. Specially when I’m thinking about a college audience and what issues are significant to them and what are we hearing in the news.”
Aside from “Asian Crossroads”, there are two photography exhibits happening this semester.

“Both deal a lot with humanity, with empathy, with social justice,” said Galpin. “In a way, that ties in with the museum’s want to present an international and global perspective, to introduce students to new voices, new ideas, new concepts.”

LaToya Ruby Frazier’s photography exhibit “Flint is Family” deals with how the Flint, Michigan water crisis affected a single family across three generations. She spent five months photographing the Cobb family in 2016.

“Pollution and water crisis – these are essential issues of our day.” said Galpin.

Jess T. Dugan and Vanessa Fabbre’s “To Survive on This Shore” deals with the experience of older trans adults. It is a series of portraits accompanied by interviews regarding the process of aging as a transgender individual.

“They wanted to present the issue of aging in the transgender community, which is often seen as youthful,” said Galpin. “To think about the fact that they transitioned or came out before the age of the internet, they have a very different story and perspective.”

Although the photography exhibitions are by North American artists, Galpin feels that by showing empathy towards these issues, the museum’s content becomes global and relevant.
The museum is attempting to diversify and broaden the materials they’re displaying.

“A lot of the students have global points of view,” said Galpin. “That’s a big part of the university’s DNA, and the museum wants to reflect that.”

The museum’s mission deals with providing transformative experiences. Galpin claims that it is “fine” to put together exhibitions that push people out of their comfort zone.

“We’re looking to present shows that appeal to a large audience,” said Galpin.  “We don’t want to create shows for people that are interested in art. We want all different people to come to the museum. We shouldn’t be concerned with if everyone liked the show, but if it made them think of something in a different way, ask a question, get in a debate, or have a conversation.”