Skip to Main Content

Library Exhibits at the Lucille Caudill Little Fine Arts Library: Exploring the Global South

Exploring the Global South: Arts in the Southern Hemisphere, curated by Karyn Hinkle, on display in Fall 2019

Title image: Exploring the Global South: Arts in the Southern Hemisphere. Background image: Al-Idrisi's World Map (1154). Unlike east-oriented Christian world maps at the time, al-Idrisi's map puts south at top in the tradition of Muslim mapmakers, who considered Mecca due south. (thetlantic.com -- 12 Maps that Changed the World, by Uri Friedman)

 
 
 
Maps of the locations represented in the display:

Textiles in the Southern Hemisphere:

a map of the locations represented in the textile books on display

Background image: 

Fabric designed and hand-printed by Aboriginal artist members of the Injalak Arts & Crafts Association in Gunbalanya, Australia.  

This design by Priscilla Badari, Katra Nganjmirra, Sylvia Badari.

(Click image to enlarge map.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Exploring the

Global South: 

Questions for North Americans to Consider

 

 

Colonialism

In what ways has the history of European and North American colonialism affected—and not affected—the arts in the southern hemisphere?

Collectors

Why are the names of collectors mentioned so often in books about textiles and fiber arts? Why are European names listed as the musicians on many recordings?

Artists

Why are the names of individual artists who created these textiles, dances, pieces of music, and plays often not mentioned?

Maps

Do the maps of the world we commonly use in North America reflect a Eurocentric or northern hemispheric bias, or are they just maps?

Anthropology

How many of these books and recordings were created from an anthropological perspective? How does that differ from books about the arts of other parts of the world?

De-colonize the library?

What can libraries do to decolonize the way we organize information, unlearn settler colonial practices, and recognize and support Indigenous cultures?

Music in the Southern Hemisphere:

A map of the locations represented in the music recordings on display

Background image: 

Heri Purwanto gives a concert of Javanese gamelan music at the University of Washington in 2014.

(Click image to enlarge map.)

 

 

 

 

 

Recordings on display of music from the Southern Hemisphere

Theatre & Dance in the Southern Hemisphere:

A map of the locations represented in the theatre and dance books on display

Background image: 

One of South Africa’s most iconic works about liberation, the musical "Sarafina!" was conceived and directed by Mbongeni Ngema, who also wrote the book, music, and lyrics with additional songs by Hugh Masekela.

(Click image to enlarge map.)

 

Books on display about theatre and dance in the Southern Hemisphere

Questions for North Americans to Consider