{"id":556228,"date":"2026-04-29T20:47:35","date_gmt":"2026-04-29T20:47:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/winklersart.com\/?p=556228"},"modified":"2026-04-29T20:47:35","modified_gmt":"2026-04-29T20:47:35","slug":"edouard-glissants-concept-of-the-museum-as-an-archipelago","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/winklersart.com\/?p=556228","title":{"rendered":"\u00c9douard Glissant&#8217;s Concept of the Museum as an Archipelago"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>In the fall of 2018, Hans Ulrich Obrist, Gabriela Rangel, and Asad Raza curated the exhibition *Lydia Cabrera and \u00c9douard Glissant: Trembling Thinking* for the Americas Society. This exhibition focused on artists who created works inspired by Martinician writer and philosopher \u00c9douard Glissant and Cuban writer and activist Lydia Cabrera&#8217;s contemplations on identity. The exhibition offered an opportunity to explore Glissant&#8217;s inspirational thinking and his connections with artists from Europe, Africa, and the Americas, such as Roberto Matta, Wifredo Lam, Etel Adnan, Irving Petlin, Antonio Segu\u00ed, \u00d6yvind Fahlstr\u00f6m, and Jack Whitten. <\/p>\n<p>The exhibition highlighted Glissant&#8217;s relationships with these artists and emphasized the confluence of cultures and identities, which is central to Glissant&#8217;s work. It also showcased Glissant&#8217;s idea of &#8220;Creolisation,&#8221; which refers to a non-hierarchical and local environment where individuals construct their own identities, moving away from essentialism and Pan-African narratives. <\/p>\n<p>Later, the exhibition *The Earth, the Fire, the Water, and the Winds: For a Museum of Errantry with \u00c9douard Glissant* at the Center for Art, Research and Alliances (CARA) introduced audiences to works from Glissant&#8217;s personal collection. According to the exhibition&#8217;s press release, Glissant, who passed away in 2011, amassed these works not for personal ownership but to create a living archive that focused on relationality and difference. Glissant envisioned a &#8220;museum-as-archipelago,&#8221; where artworks are part of an interconnected yet distinct group, reflecting his wish to eschew hierarchical and colonial narratives.<\/p>\n<p>This collection, displayed for the first time in the United States, offered insights into Glissant&#8217;s enduring friendships and collaborations with artists from diverse backgrounds. For instance, Antonio Segu\u00ed&#8217;s pastel works from the *Titanic* series were revealed, depicting the ship not as a symbol of tragedy but as a critique of Western rationalism and capitalism&#8217;s overconfidence.<\/p>\n<p>The exhibition also featured small drawings by Lam, hinting at Glissant&#8217;s interactions with Lam and their shared interests. Other artists in the collection included Fahlstr\u00f6m, Brauner, Edwards, and Glissant&#8217;s wife, Sylvie Sema Glissant, who all contributed to this unique collection. This assembly of works challenged colonial narratives and offered a platform for political engagement and cultural examination.<\/p>\n<p>*The Earth, the Fire, the Water, and the Winds: For a Museum of Errantry with \u00c9douard Glissant* continues at CARA in New York City, providing viewers with a rare glimpse into Glissant&#8217;s vision and the impact of his ideas on a diverse array of artists. The exhibition was co-conceived with M\u00e9morial ACTe, the \u00c9douard Glissant Art Fund, and the Institut du Tout-Monde and was curated collaboratively to showcase this dynamic collection.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In the fall of 2018, Hans Ulrich Obrist, Gabriela Rangel, and Asad Raza curated the exhibition *Lydia Cabrera and \u00c9douard Glissant: Trembling Thinking* for the Americas Society. This exhibition focused on artists who created works inspired by Martinician writer and philosopher \u00c9douard Glissant and Cuban writer and activist Lydia Cabrera&#8217;s contemplations on identity. The exhibition offered an opportunity to explore [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":556229,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"Default","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-556228","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/winklersart.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/556228","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/winklersart.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/winklersart.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/winklersart.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/winklersart.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=556228"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/winklersart.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/556228\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/winklersart.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/556229"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/winklersart.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=556228"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/winklersart.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=556228"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/winklersart.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=556228"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}