The Nexus: Michelle Joan Wilkinson

24/09/2020 30 min
The Nexus: Michelle Joan Wilkinson

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Episode Synopsis

In this month's episode, we talk to Dr. Michelle Joan Wilkinson, curator at the National Museum of African American History and Culture. Together, we take a deep dive into Terry Boddie’s Blueprint (2001) as a lens into systems of power embedded in architectural design and the historical ties between visual representation and histories of subjugation. Along the way we discuss Dr. Wilkinson’s earliest encounters with art and art history, her personal experiences documenting diasporic architectural heritage, and the importance of recording and preserving Black oral histories. We also get an exciting behind-the-scenes look at Dr. Wilkinson’s process of curating collections around Black architects and architectural history at the Smithsonian and beyond.