Maryland Historical Society

Until recently, the viewpoints of Native and African-Americans have largely been excluded from museum exhibitions. Have these exclusions been intentional or are they a reflection of institutional biases that reflect larger societal prejudices? Fred Wilson, an artist of African-American and Caribbean descent, "mined" the collection of a traditional historical society and designed an installation that illustrated the complicity of museum practices in upholding- perhaps inadvertently-racism. Presented in collaboration with the Maryland Historical Society, the exhibition included over one hundred objects from the Society's collection, displayed in unexpected arrangements that raised questions about the museum's representation of African-American and Native-American experiences. Mining the Museum was awarded 1993 American Association of Museum's Exhibition of the Year and the George Wittenborn prize for outstanding scholarship and publication design. An artist residency program was initiated to facilitate project development (2 months in duration).