Our host, Adrian Ellis speaks to Ore Disu, Director of The Institute, Museum of West African Art (MOWAA) on the mission and vision of MOWAA and how the institution is thinking about culture, museum praxis and the very idea of “The Museum” differently and within the African context.

External references:

• MOWAA website: https://wearemowaa.org/
• Museum of West African Art Announces the Opening of the MOWAA Institute: https://wearemowaa.org/mowaa-institute-launch-announcement/
• The National Commission for Museums and Monuments (NCMM): https://museum.ng/
• Igun Street: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Igun_Street
• Benin Bronzes: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benin_Bronzes

Guest bio:
Ore Disu has led the MOWAA Institute since January 2022 as its first Director, bringing to it more than a decade of experience in cultural programming, research, and stakeholder management for early-stage organizations. Educated at the University of Cambridge (BA in Architecture) and University College London (MSc in Urban Development Planning), she has implemented grants and contributed to the efforts of non-profit organizations including the Ford Foundation, Goethe Institute, Institute for Liberty and Democracy, Overseas Development Institute, Heinrich Böll Foundation, and the Africa Centre for Cities. From 2016 through 2019, she served in the UK’s Department for International Development as Senior Research Partnerships Manager for the agency’s governance and accountability program in Nigeria. She subsequently moved to a multi-national social enterprise, serving as the Government Relations and Partnerships Lead for pilot programs in Uganda, India, and Nigeria. She has been active as a consultant as the founding Executive Director of Nsibidi Institute in Lagos, Nigeria, and as an Associate of the UK-based firm The Policy Practice.

Our host, Hilary Knight speaks to Rob Cawston, Director of Digital and Service Transformation, National Library of Scotland on how the NLS is taking an ethical stance on the use of AI and how this work is tied to its mission and values.

External References:

• National Library of Scotland: https://www.nls.uk/
• National Library of Scotland AI Statement: https://data.nls.uk/projects/ai-statement/
• National Library of Scotland’s tools: https://data.nls.uk/tools/
• 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2023_SAG-AFTRA_strike
• Smithsonian’s AI Values Statement: https://datascience.si.edu/ai-values-statement
• Smithsonian’s co-authored the paper "Developing responsible AI practices at the Smithsonian Institution": https://doi.org/10.3897/rio.9.e113334

Bio:

Rob Cawston is the Director of Digital and Service Transformation at the National Library of Scotland and has previously managed digital programmes at the Scottish Government, National Museums Scotland, the Royal Institution, BAFTA and Chatham House. Rob is a graduate of the Oxford Cultural Leaders programme at the Said Business School (University of Oxford) and has served as an Advisory Board Member of Creative Lives supporting community and volunteer-led creative activity across Scotland.

Our host, Stephanie Fortunato speaks to Adriane Jefferson, Director of Cultural Affairs for the City of New Haven. They discuss cultural equity planning at a city level, the fundamental shifts it has facilitated for New Haven, as well as the challenges and opportunities of creating a living and actionable plan to create a more equitable and more culturally diverse ecosystem, written for and by the people.

External references:

• City of New Haven Department of Arts, Culture and Tourism: https://www.newhavenct.gov/government/departments-divisions/arts-culture-tourism
• City of New Haven’s Cultural Equity Plan (2022): https://www.newhavenct.gov/government/departments-divisions/arts-culture-tourism/cultural-equity-plan
• Black Wallstreet Festival: https://www.instagram.com/blackwallstreetfestival/
• The Greater New Haven Creative Sector Relief Fund: https://www.newhavenarts.org/relieffund
• The Creative Entrepreneurship Decoded (ED) program: https://www.togethernewhaven.com/deprogram
• Together New Haven Arts for Antiracism Pledge: https://www.togethernewhaven.com/pledge
• The Breed Entertainment: https://www.thebreedmadeit.com/
• Sweets and Sounds Conference: https://www.sweetsandsounds.com/
• Seeing Sounds Festival: https://www.seeingsoundsfest.com/

LinkedIns

• City of New Haven: https://www.linkedin.com/company/city-of-new-haven/about/
• Adriane Jefferson: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adriane-jefferson-a3484319/

Adriane Jefferson Bio

Adriane V. Jefferson is an award-winning Cultural Equity Leader who has worked professionally in the Arts & Culture sector for over 19 years. As the Director of Cultural Affairs for the City of New Haven and the Executive Director of New Haven Festivals Inc. in Connecticut, she has spearheaded several significant initiatives such as The Unapologetically Radical Conference, the City of New Haven’s inaugural Black Wall Street festival, and the first Cultural Equity Plan in the State of Connecticut. Adriane is also a seasoned public speaker, regularly sharing her expertise on cultural equity and activism with various organizations and platforms like Yale University, the NAACP and CT Magazine to name a few. Her work has been featured in Cosmo Magazine, black enterprise magazine, yahoo news, among many other reputable news, sources. She is also currently teaching Arts & Entertainment Management as a professor at Eastern Connecticut State University, she is a Yale Trumbull College Fellow and a member of Delta Sigma sorority Inc.