Exhibiting Bushman Art in Switzerland
Revisiting the Curatorial Process of the Exhibition "Kuru. L’art d’un monde en mutation"
Abstract
This article discusses the collaborative process that led to the conception of the exhibition Kuru. L’art d’un monde en mutation held in 2019 at the Botanical Garden of Neuchâtel,Switzerland. This project, which brought together San Naro artists from Botswana, anthropologists and museum professionals, aimed to rethink the museum’s approach to contemporary San art and to develop more inclusive modes of exhibition. This article documents the strategies of representation of the Self and the Other mobilized in this context and proposes a reflection on the contributions, the stakes and the limits of this collaboration at the intersection of art, anthropology and botany. It highlights the unintended effects, constant adaptations, and persistent asymmetries at work in the exchanges, and discusses the value of making sense of these interactional dynamics within the museum space.
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