
Local or Global? The Future of Diaspora and Immigration Museums
The Future of Diaspora and Immigration Museums
Wednesday, May 17, 2023
Nanji Family Foundation Auditorium
Join us for the next instalment of Global Conversations — a series of hybrid panel discussions with arts and culture leaders from around the world addressing the big questions and challenging global issues of the day.
Diaspora communities speak to belonging across multiple generations and locations, encompassing a range of experiences from forced migration to skilled immigration. In the last three decades, these communities have been represented by a range of museums. Marking International Museum Day, this panel discussion explores how museums engage diaspora and immigrant communities and represent their stories, speaking to local and global issues and networks.
This conversation brings together leaders from diaspora and immigration museums across North America to address the aims, approaches, and concerns of these institutions and their constituencies in the 21st century. Panelists include:
- Diana Abouali, Director of the Arab American National Museum;
- Marie Chapman, CEO of the Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21;
- Palina Louangketh, Founder and Executive Director of the Idaho Museum of International Diaspora;
- Dr. Ulrike Al-Khamis, Director and CEO of the Aga Khan Museum
The conversation will be moderated by Dr. Sascha Priewe and Dr. Sarah E.K. Smith.
This discussion builds on research into the diplomacy of diaspora and immigration museums that is being undertaken in the Faculty of Information & Media Studies at Western University, in partnership with the Idaho Museum of International Diaspora and the Aga Khan Museum.
Speakers

Diana Abouali
Speaker

Marie Chapman
Speaker

Dr. Palina Louangketh
Speaker

Dr. Ulrike Al-Khamis
Speaker

Dr. Sarah Smith
Moderator
Partners
The Museum’s Performing Arts programming is generously supported by the Nanji Family Foundation.
This event is supported in part by funding from the Canada Research Chairs program and sponsored by ICOM Canada, the Faculty of Information & Media Studies, and the North American Cultural Diplomacy Initiative.