TRANSFORMING CULTURES
Melbourne and Sydney

John Haworth, Director of the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian in New York

Nancy Proctor, Nancy Proctor, PhD Head of Mobile Strategy and Initiatives Smithsonian Institution

Kape Communications in partnership with Museum3 hosted John Haworth and Nancy Proctor at the Transforming Cultures Conference at RMIT University, Melbourne, and Australia Council, Sydney, in April 2011.

John Haworth spoke about the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian and issues around institutions and culture, as well as how they engage with Native Americans and other Americans to represent contemporary living culture. Nancy Proctor spoke on the use of Generation 3 mobile technology and its impact in generating greater audiences and more engagement from communities.

The National Museum of the American Indian is the first national museum dedicated to the preservation, study, and exhibition of the life, languages, literature, history, and arts of Native Americans. The museum works in collaboration with the Native peoples of the Western Hemisphere to protect and foster their cultures by reaffirming traditions and beliefs, encouraging contemporary artistic expression, and empowering the Indian voice.

The museum’s collections encompass more than 800,000 works of aesthetic, religious, and historical significance, as well as articles produced for  utilitarian use. The collections span all major cultural areas of the Americas, representing virtually all tribes of the United States, most of those of Canada, and a significant number of cultures from Central and South America as well as the Caribbean.

John Haworth has been Director of the National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI) in New York City since 1995 and has managed major capital renovations and many collaborative programs. As Assistant Commissioner at New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, he managed an $80 million program and held leadership roles in arts education, tourism, and economic development projects. He held senior posts at New York State Council on the Arts and Arizona Commission on the Arts. Haworth serves on boards of Americans for the Arts, Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, and the Museum Association of New York.

Nancy Proctor heads up mobile strategy and initiatives for the Smithsonian Institution and is co-chair of the Museums and the Web annual conference. With a PhD in American art history and a background in filmmaking, curation and art criticism, Nancy Proctor published her first online exhibition in 1995. She co-founded TheGalleryChannel.com in 1998 with Titus Bicknell to present virtual tours of innovative exhibitions alongside comprehensive global museum and gallery listings.

Nancy lead New Product Development from 2000-2008, introducing the company’s multimedia, sign language, downloadable, podcast and cellphone tours. She worked with the Travel Channel’s product development team. From 2008-2010 she was Head of New Media at the Smithsonian American Art Museum.

 

   





     
Kape©