Museums should honor the everyday, not just the extraordinary | Ariana Curtis

翻译人员: jacks peng 校对人员: Tianji (Homer) Li

Representation matters.

代表很重要。

Authentic representations of women matter.

女性的真正代表很重要。

I think that too often, our public representations of women

我认为，我们的女性公众代表

are enveloped in the language of the extraordinary.

往往被各种溢美之词包围。

The first American woman to become a self-made millionaire:

第一个白手起家的 美国女性百万富翁：

Madam C. J. Walker ...

沃克女士…

The dresses of the first ladies of the United States ...

美国第一夫人的服装…

Shirley Chisholm, the first woman to seek

雪莉 · 奇泽姆，第一个争夺并获得

the US Democratic party's presidential nomination --

美国民主党总统候选人提名的女性——

(Applause)

（鼓掌）

As a museum curator,

作为博物馆策展人，

I understand why these stories are so seductive.

我明白为什么这些故事如此吸引人。

Exceptional women are inspiring and aspirational.

杰出的女性鼓舞人心，志向远大。

But those stories are limiting.

但这些故事都有一定的局限性。

By definition, being extraordinary is nonrepresentative.

就定义而言，杰出并不具有代表性，

It's atypical.

不具有典型性。

Those stories do not create a broad base for incorporating women's history,

这些故事并没有为吸纳女性历史 创造一个广泛的基础，

and they don't reflect our daily realities.

也无法反映我们真实的日常生活。

If we can collectively apply that radical notion

如果我们能共同接受“女性也是人”

that women are people,

这个根本性的概念，

it becomes easier to show women as people are:

展示女性的本来面目就更容易了：

familiar, diverse, present.

熟悉，多样，无处不在。

In everyone's everyday throughout history,

在历史上每个人的日常生活中，

women exist positively --

女性都无处不在——

not as a matter of interpretation, but as a matter of fact.

无需阐释，这是事实。

And beyond a more accurate representation of human life,

超越了对人类生活更准确的阐释，

including women considers the quotidian experiences

将女性包含在内，就考虑了这个地球上

of the almost 3.8 billion people identified as female on this planet.

38亿女性的日常经历。

In this now notorious museum scene from the "Black Panther" movie,

在这个来自《黑豹》电影中 臭名昭著的博物馆场景中，

a white curator erroneously explains an artifact

一个白人展管员错误地向 电影中迈克尔 · 乔丹

to Michael B. Jordan's character seen here,

饰演的角色介绍了

an artifact from his own culture.

一件来自迈克尔家乡文化的文物。

This fictional scene caused real debates in our museum communities

这个虚构的场景在我们的 博物馆社区引起了一场

about who is shaping the narratives and the bias that those narratives hold.

关于谁在塑造这些叙述，以及 其中所持有的偏见的实质性辩论。

Museums are actually rated

博物馆往往被视为

one of the most trustworthy sources of information in the United States,

美国最值得信赖的信息来源之一，

and with hundreds of millions of visitors from all over the world,

全球有成千上万的 访客踏上美国的土地，

we should tell accurate histories,

我们应该告诉大家准确的历史，

but we don't.

但我们并没有做到这一点。

There is a movement from within museums themselves

博物馆内部也有这样

to help combat this bias.

旨在消除此类偏见的运动。

The simple acknowledgment that museums are not neutral.

简单地承认，博物馆不是中立的。

Museums are didactic.

博物馆是说教的。

Through the display of art and artifacts,

通过艺术品和文物的展示，

we can incite creativity and foster inclusion,

我们可以激发创造力， 培养包容性，

but we are guilty of historical misrepresentation.

但我们也对错误地表述历史负有责任。

Our male-centered histories have left our herstories hidden.

以男性为中心的历史将 女性的历史隐藏了起来。

And there are hard truths about being a woman,

关于作为一名女性， 尤其是这个行业中的

especially a woman of color in this industry,

有色女性群体， 存在一系列残酷的事实，

that prevents us from centering inclusive examples of women's lives.

使我们无法聚焦于 女性日常生活的缩影。

Museum leadership:

博物馆管理层方面：

predominantly white and male,

主要是白人和男性，

despite women comprising some 60 percent of museum staffs.

尽管女性占博物馆 员工人数的60%。

Pipelines to leadership for women are bleak --

女性的升职之路是暗淡的——

bleakest for women of color.

对于有色人种女性尤为暗淡。

And the presence of women does not in and of itself guarantee

女性的存在本身并不能保证

an increase in women's public representation.

增加女性的公众代表。

Not all women are gender equity allies.

不是所有的女性都是 性别平等的盟友。

In the words of feminist theorist bell hooks,

用女权主义理论家 贝尔 · 胡克斯的话来说，

"Patriarchy has no gender."

“父权制没有性别。”

Women can support the system of patriarchy

女性能够支持父权制，

just as men can support the fight for gender equity.

就如男性可以支持 性别平等斗争一样。

And we often downplay the importance of intersectionality.

我们常常低估了交叉性的重要性。

Marian Anderson was one of the most celebrated voices of the 20th century,

玛丽安 · 安德森是20世纪 最著名的女性歌唱家之一，

and the Smithsonian collected her 1939 outfit.

史密森尼学会收藏了 她1939年的服装。

After the white Daughters of the American Revolution denied her access

在美国革命女儿会中的 白人成员因为她是黑人

to sing in Constitution Hall, because she was black,

而拒绝她在宪法大厅演唱后，

she famously sang instead on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial,

她随即在林肯纪念堂的台阶上 为超过75000人演唱，

to a crowd of over 75,000 people.

这一事迹被载入了史册。

And in libraries all over, including museums,

在世界各地的图书馆， 包括博物馆中，

you can still find the groundbreaking 1982 anthology, entitled

你仍然可以找到1982年出版的 具有开创性的选集，名为

"All the Women Are White,

“所有的女性都是白人，

All the Blacks Are Men,

所有的黑人都是男性，

But Some of Us Are Brave."

但我们有些人很勇敢。”

Demands for the increase of women's representation

要求增加女性代表的要求

does not automatically include Afro-Latinas like me ...

并不直接包括象我 这样的非裔拉丁人……

or immigrant women, or Asian women, or Native women,

移民女性，亚洲女性， 印第安女性，

or trans women, or undocumented women,

或者变性女性，无证女性，

or women over 65, or girls --

年龄超过65岁的女性， 亦或者女孩——

the list can go on and on and on.

这个名单还很长。

So what do we do?

那我们该怎么做？

Targeted initiatives have helped incorporate perspectives

有目标的倡议有助于纳入

that should have always been included.

本应一直被包括在内的观点。

I arrived at the Smithsonian through a Latino curatorial initiative

我通过一个聘用了拉美裔的 拉美裔策展人项目

whose hiring of Latinx curators,

来到史密森尼，

mostly women, by the way,

顺便说一句，被聘用的 大多数都是女性——

has raised the profile for Latinx narratives across our institution.

提高了拉丁叙事在 我们机构中的地位。

And it served as a model

它是我们规模更大的

for our much larger Smithsonian American Women's History Initiative,

史密森尼美国妇女 历史计划的一种模式，

which seeks to amplify diverse representations of women

目的在于尽可能放大

in every possible way,

对于女性的不同表述，

so that women show up,

这样女性才会

not only in the imagery of our contemporary realities,

不仅出现在当代现实的意象中，

but in our historical representations,

也会出现在我们的历史代表中，

because we've always been here.

因为我们一直都在。

Right now though, in 2018, I can still walk into professional spaces

如今，在2018年，我仍然 可以走进专业领域，

and be the only --

作为唯一——

the only person under 40, the only black person,

唯一一个年龄在 40以下，唯一的黑人，

the only black woman, the only Latina,

唯一的黑人女性， 唯一的拉丁人，

sometimes, the only woman.

有时候，还是唯一的女性。

My mother is African-American and my father is Afro-Panamanian.

我母亲是非裔美国人， 父亲是非裔巴拿马人。

I am so proudly and inextricably both.

我是如此的骄傲，拥有 如此不可分割的身份结合。

As an Afro-Latina, I'm one of millions.

作为一个非洲裔拉丁人， 我只是数百万人中的一员。

As an Afro-Latina curator, I'm one of very few.

作为一名非裔拉丁策展人， 我却是为数不多的几个人之一。

And bringing my whole self into the professional realm

全身心投入专业领域，

感觉像是一种勇敢的行为，

can feel like an act of bravery,

and I'll admit to you that I was not always up for that challenge,

我得承认，面对这个挑战， 我并非总是胸有成竹。

whether from fear of rejection or self-preservation.

无论是出于害怕被拒绝， 还是自我保护。

In meetings, I would only speak up

在会议中，我只会在

when I had a fully developed comment to share.

充分酝酿过后想法之后才会发言。

No audible brainstorming or riffing off of colleagues.

不会参与头脑风暴或 在同事面前即兴发言。

For a long time,

很长时间里，

I denied myself the joy of wearing my beloved hoop earrings

我压抑着自己戴上 心爱的耳环或铭牌项链

or nameplate necklace to work,

去上班的喜悦之情，

thinking that they were too loud or unscholarly or unprofessional.

认为它们太花里胡哨、 显得太没学问或太不专业。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

I wondered how people would react to my natural hair,

我想知道人们会对我的 天生发质有什么反应，

or if they viewed me as more acceptable or less authentic when I straightened it.

或当我把头发拉直时，他们会 更愿意接纳我，还是觉得我不太可信。

And anyone who has felt outside of mainstream representations

任何有过被主流表象 排斥在外的人都知道，

understands that there are basic elements just of our everyday being

我们日常生活中总有一些基本元素

that can make other people uncomfortable.

会让其他人感到不舒服。

But because I am passionate

然而因为我对

about the everyday representation of women as we are,

女性的日常代表充满热情，

I stopped presenting an inauthentic representation of myself or my work.

我不再掩盖自己，或者工作中的真相。

And I have been tested.

我已经接受了考验。

This is me pointing at my hoop earring in my office --

这是我在办公室指着的自己耳环——

（笑声）

(Laughter)

Just last month, I was invited to keynote a Latino Heritage Month event.

就在上个月，我被邀请为拉丁裔 传统月的活动做主题演讲。

The week of the presentation, the organization expressed concerns.

在演讲那周，主办单位 表达了他们的担忧。

They called my slides "activist,"

他们称我的幻灯片为“激进”，

and they meant that negatively.

这是一种负面的定位。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

(Applause)

（鼓掌）

Two days before the presentation,

在演讲前两天，

they requested that I not show a two-minute video affirming natural hair,

他们要求我不要放那段两分钟的 证实头发是天然的视频，

because "it may create a barrier to the learning process

因为“这可能会对一些参与者的

for some of the participants."

学习过程造成障碍。”

(Laughter)

（笑声）

That poem, "Hair," was written and performed by Elizabeth Acevedo,

《头发》那首诗是由 伊丽莎白·阿塞韦多创作和演绎的，

a Dominican-American 2018 National Book Award winner,

一位获得2018年美国国家图书奖的 多米尼加裔美国人，

and it appeared in an award-winning Smithsonian exhibit that I curated.

它出现在我策划的 史密森尼获奖展览中。

I canceled the talk,

我取消了演讲，

explaining to them that their censorship of me and my work made me uncomfortable.

向他们解释，他们对我和我作品的 审查让我感到不舒服。

(Applause and cheers)

（鼓掌和欢呼）

Respectability politics and idealized femininity

体面政治和理想化的女性气质

influence how we display women

影响着我们如何展示女性，

and which women we choose to display.

以及选择展示哪些女性。

And that display has skewed toward successful and extraordinary

这种展示倾向于成功，非凡，

and reputable and desirable,

声誉良好和令人满意的特质,

which maintains the systemic exclusion

它维持了对日常的，

and marginalization of the everyday, the regular, the underrepresented

有规律的，未被充分代表的， 通常是非白人群体

and usually, the nonwhite.

系统性的排斥和边缘化。

As a museum curator, I am empowered to change that narrative.

作为博物馆策展人， 我有权改变这一叙述。

I research, collect and interpret objects and images of significance.

我研究，收集和解释 有意义的物件和图像。

Celia Cruz, the queen of Salsa --

西莉亚·克鲁兹，萨尔萨舞皇后——

(Cheers)

（欢呼）

是的——她的地位举足轻重。

yes -- is significant.

And an Afro-Latina.

她也是非裔拉丁人。

The Smithsonian has collected her costumes, her shoes,

史密森尼学会收藏了 她的服装和鞋子，

her portrait, her postage stamp

她的肖像，印有她头像的邮票，

and this reimagining ...

以及这一由艺术家 托尼·佩拉尔塔所创作的

by artist Tony Peralta.

造型重塑。

When I collected and displayed this work,

当我收集和展示这些作品时，

it was a victory for symbolic contradictions.

这是象征性矛盾的胜利。

Pride in displaying a dark-skinned Latina,

以展示深色皮肤的拉丁人，

a black woman,

黑人女性为荣，

whose hair is in large rollers which straighten your hair,

她的头发是大卷的； 把你的头发变直

perhaps a nod to white beauty standards.

也许是对白人审美标准的认可。

A refined, glamorous woman in oversized, chunky gold jewelry.

一个优雅、迷人的女人， 戴着超大号、厚实的黄金首饰。

When this work was on view,

当这个作品展出时，

成了我们在Instagram上 最火的作品之一，

it was one of our most Instagrammed pieces,

and visitors told me they connected with the everyday elements

参观者告诉我，他们与她棕色皮肤，

of her brown skin or her rollers or her jewelry.

卷发器或珠宝的 日常元素产生了共鸣。

Our collections include Celia Cruz

我们的收藏品包括西莉亚·克鲁兹，

and a rare portrait of a young Harriet Tubman ...

还有一幅罕见的年轻 哈里特·塔布曼的画像…

iconic clothing from the incomparable Oprah Winfrey.

无与伦比的奥普拉· 温弗瑞的标志性服装。

But museums can literally change

但博物馆确实可以改变

how hundreds of millions of people see women

数亿人看待女性的方式，

and which women they see.

以及他们会看到哪些女性。

So rather than always the first or the famous,

所以与其总是展示 最顶尖或最著名的人物，

it's also our responsibility to show a regular Saturday at the beauty salon,

我们也有责任展示一个 普通周六的美容院，

the art of door-knocker earrings ...

门环耳环的艺术…

(Laughter)

（笑声）

时尚的姐妹会…

fashionable sisterhood ...

(Laughter)

（笑声）

and cultural pride at all ages.

以及各年龄段的文化自豪感。

Stories of everyday women

那些日常生活中平凡妇女的故事，

whose stories have been knowingly omitted from our national and global histories.

其故事过去曾被有意地从我们的 国家和全球历史中抹除。

And oftentimes in museums, you see women represented by clothing

通常在博物馆里， 你会看到用衣服，

or portraits or photography ...

肖像或摄影来代表女性…

but impactful, life-changing stories from everyday women

但是来自普通女性的影响深远， 足以改变生活的故事

can also look like this Esmeraldan boat seat.

也可以像这个埃斯梅拉达斯船座一样。

Esmeraldas, Ecuador was a maroon community.

厄瓜多尔的埃斯梅拉达斯 是一个以栗色人种为主的社区。

Its dense rainforest protected indigenous and African populations

茂密的热带雨林保护了 土著和非洲人免受

from Spanish colonizers.

西班牙殖民者的侵害。

There are roads now,

现在有路了，

but there are some parts inland that are still only accessible by canoe.

但是内陆一些地方的交通 仍然要依靠独木舟。

Débora Nazareno frequently traveled those Ecuadorian waterways by canoe,

黛博拉·纳扎拉诺经常乘坐独木舟 在厄瓜多尔的水路上旅行，

so she had her own boat seat.

所以她有自己的船座。

Hers personalized with a spiderweb and a spider,

她的个性化设计含有 蜘蛛网和蜘蛛的图案，

representing Anansi, a character in West African folklore.

代表西非民间传说中的人物，阿南西。

Débora also sat on this seat at home, telling stories to her grandson, Juan.

黛博拉在家时也会坐在上面， 给孙子胡安讲故事。

And this intangible ritual of love

这种无形的爱的仪式

in the form of intergenerational storytelling

以跨代际讲故事的形式存在，

is common in communities across the African diaspora.

在非洲散居的社区中很常见。

And this everyday act sparked in Juan the desire to collect and preserve

这种日常行为激发了胡安收集

over 50,000 documents related to Afro-Indian culture.

5万多份与非洲印第安文化 有关的文件的愿望。

In 2005, Juan García Salazar, Débora's grandson,

2005年，黛博拉的孙子胡安，

and by now a world-renowned Afro-Ecuadorian scholar,

现在是世界著名的 厄瓜多尔非洲裔学者，

来到华盛顿特区。

traveled to Washington, D.C.

He met with Lonnie Bunch, the director of the museum where I work,

他会见了我工作的 博物馆的馆长朗尼·邦奇，

and toward the end of their conversation,

在他们的谈话快要结束的时候，

胡安把手伸进包里说: “我想送你一件礼物。”

Juan reached into his bag and said, "I'd like to give you a present."

On that day, Débora Nazareno's humble wooden boat seat

在那一天，黛博拉·纳扎雷诺 简陋的木船座椅

became the very first object donated

成为了第一个捐赠给

to the Smithsonian National Museum of African-American History and Culture.

史密森尼国家博物馆的物品。

It is encased, displayed and has been seen by almost five million visitors

它被妥善安置，迄今为止 已经展示给了来自世界各地

from all over the world.

近500万名游客。

I will continue to collect from extraordinary historymakers.

我将继续从非凡的历史 创造者那里收集资料。

Their stories are important.

他们的故事很重要。

But what drives me to show up today and every day

但驱使我今天和每一天 都出现在公众面前的，

is the simple passion to write our names in history,

是一种简单的热情，那就是 在历史中写下我们的名字，

display them publicly for millions to see

将它们公开展示给千千万万的人，

and walk in the ever-present light that is woman.

并走进永恒的光芒中， 这种光芒就是女性。

Thank you.

谢谢。

（鼓掌和欢呼）

(Applause and cheers)