LRCCS Noon Lecture Series | Reinstalling the Detroit Institute of Arts’ Asian Galleries: New Voices and New Perspectives

In November 2018, the Detroit Institute of Arts opened expanded Asian galleries in its new Robert and Katherine Jacobs Asian Wing, completing the museum-wide reinstallation that had been inaugurated in 2007. To develop thematic ideas and object groupings for the galleries, DIA staff collaborated with both academic specialists and community members, bringing a range of voices into the planning process. In this talk, Dr. Kasdorf will discuss the DIA’s methodology of co-creation, its visitor-centered exhibition practices, and the ideas, objects, and interactive features in the new Asian galleries, with emphasis on areas where Chinese works of art are on view.

Katherine Kasdorf is Associate Curator of Arts of Asia and the Islamic World at the Detroit Institute of Arts. Most recently, she collaborated with colleagues on the reinstallation of the Asian collection, opening new galleries of Chinese, Korean, Japanese, South & Southeast Asian, and Buddhist art in November 2018. Prior to joining the DIA in May 2017, she held a Wieler-Mellon Postdoctoral Curatorial Fellowship at the Walters Art Museum, where her work focused primarily on the Tibetan, Nepalese, and South & Southeast Asian collections. She received her Ph.D. in South Asian art history from Columbia University in 2013.

If you are a person with a disability who requires an accommodation to attend this event, please reach out to us at least 2 weeks in advance of this event. Please be aware that advance notice is necessary as some accommodations may require more time for the university to arrange.

Photo: Courtesy of the Detroit Institute of Arts.