Ngaire Blankenberg

Ngaire Blankenberg (born {{birth based on age as of date|33|2005|9|23|noage=1}}{{cite news |last1=Nolen |first1=Stephanie |title=Giving voice to the people through art |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/giving-voice-to-the-people-through-art/article987095/ |access-date=11 May 2023 |work=The Globe and Mail |date=23 September 2005 |language=en-CA}}) is a Canadian-born South African museum designer, consultant, and administrator.{{cite web |last1=Murphy |first1=Adrian |title=The people behind museums: Ngaire Blankenberg, Director, Smithsonian National Museum of African Art |url=https://www.museumnext.com/article/ngaire-blankenberg-national-museum-of-african-art/ |website=MuseumNext |access-date=11 May 2023 |language=en |date=14 January 2022}} She is a former director of the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art.

Early life and education

Blankenberg's parents are South African and she was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Her mother is White and her father is Coloured (and albino); they had relocated to Canada as their interracial marriage was illegal in South Africa at that time.{{cite web |last1=Bowden |first1=Alexander |title=The Museum Series: The Consultant |url=https://thebowdenreport.org/2017/07/14/the-museum-series-the-consultant/ |website=The Bowden Report |access-date=11 May 2023 |language=en |date=14 July 2017}} She earned a journalism degree from Carleton University and worked for 12 years in television and documentaries, including a year as a videographer on the CBC newsmagazine series Road Movies,Bill Anderson, [https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-gazette/28855950/ "In Road Movies, CBC lets youths tell own tales; Network gets fresh viewpoints - and a TV series for $100,000 an episode"]. Montreal Gazette, July 17, 1992. before moving to South Africa to study media and cultural studies, earning a masters degree from the University of Natal.{{cite news |title=Ngaire Blankenberg to Lead National Museum of African Art |url=https://www.artforum.com/news/ngaire-blankenberg-to-lead-national-museum-of-african-art-86175 |access-date=11 May 2023 |work=Artforum |date=7 July 2021}} She moved back to Canada and began working as a museum designer and consultant.

Museum career

Blankenberg has worked with the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa, Superblue Miami, the museum at Constitution Hill, Johannesburg, and the Canadian Museum for Human Rights in Winnipeg.{{cite news |last1=Manaleng |first1=Palesa |title=Constitution Hill hosts 10-day racial reckoning art experience |url=https://ewn.co.za/2022/09/15/constitution-hill-hosts-10-day-racial-reckoning-art-experience |access-date=11 May 2023 |work=Eyewitness News (South Africa){{!}}Eyewitness News |date=15 September 2022 |language=en}} She is noted for her expertise in developing decolonization plans for cultural institutions as well as concept development and public engagement.

Blankenberg has worked as a consultant with Dutch design firm Kossmann.dejong and with Toronto-based Lord Cultural Resources, where she was principal consultant.{{cite news |last1=Tremayne-Pengelly |first1=Alexandra |title=National Museum of African Art Director Ngaire Blankenberg Quietly Resigns |url=https://observer.com/2023/05/ngaire-blankenberg-resigns-from-smithsonians-national-museum-of-african-art/ |access-date=12 May 2023 |work=The New York Observer{{!}}Observer |date=11 May 2023}}{{cite journal |last1=Molho |first1=Jérémie |title=Review of "Cities, Museums and Soft Power," by Gail Lord and Ngaire Blankenberg |journal=The Journal of Arts Management, Law, and Society |date=19 October 2016 |volume=46 |issue=5 |pages=300–302 |doi=10.1080/10632921.2016.1194793 |s2cid=152155287 |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10632921.2016.1194793?journalCode=vjam20 |issn=1063-2921|url-access=subscription }} In 2016, along with Lord co-founder Gail Lord, she co-edited Cities, Museums and Soft Power for the American Alliance of Museums. Lord and Blankenberg argued that the concept of soft power should be expanded from the political sphere to include "cultural and urban life."

From 2021 until 2023, she was the director of the National Museum of African Art in Washington, D.C.{{cite news |last1=Boucher |first1=Brian |title=The Smithsonian National Museum of African Art's Director Has Resigned After Less Than Two Years, Citing 'Resistance and Backlash' |url=https://news.artnet.com/art-world/director-smithsonian-national-museum-of-african-art-is-out-2299000 |access-date=11 May 2023 |work=Artnet News |date=10 May 2023}} When she was appointed director on July 7, 2021, she announced her ambition to "redefine, heal and reconcile". During her tenure, Blankenberg was a leading advocate for repatriation of artifacts in the museum's collection,{{cite news |last1=McGlone |first1=Peggy |title=Human bones, stolen art: Smithsonian tackles its 'problem' collections |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/arts-entertainment/2022/07/27/smithsonian-collection-policy-update/ |access-date=11 May 2023 |newspaper=Washington Post |date=27 July 2022}} and in 2022 the museum returned 29 looted Benin Bronzes to Nigeria.{{cite news |last=Germain |first=Jacquelyne |title=The Smithsonian Returns a Trove of Benin Bronzes to Nigeria |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/benin-bronzes-going-back-to-nigeria-180980917/ |access-date=11 May 2023 |work=Smithsonian Magazine |date=October 11, 2022 |language=en}} Blankenberg resigned from her position on March 31, 2023, citing "individual and institutional resistance".

Following her resignation, Blankenberg returned to South Africa.{{cite news |last1=Stoilas |first1=Helen |title=The Smithsonian's National Museum of African Art is looking for a new director—again |url=https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2023/05/09/smithsonian-national-museum-african-art-ngaire-blankenberg-resigned |access-date=11 May 2023 |work=The Art Newspaper |date=9 May 2023}}

Selected publications

{{cite journal |last1=Blankenberg |first1=Ngaire |title=That rare and random tribe: Albino identity in South Africa |journal=Critical Arts |date=2000 |volume=14 |issue=2 |pages=6–48 |doi=10.1080/02560040085310081 |s2cid=144647842 |issn=0256-0046}}
{{cite book |editor-last1=Lord |editor-first1=Gail Dexter |editor-last2=Blankenberg |editor-first2=Ngaire |title=Cities, Museums and Soft Power |date=8 July 2016 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |isbn=978-1-4422-7677-2}}Reviews of Cities, Museums and Soft Power:
{{cite journal |last1=Molho |first1=Jérémie |title=Review of "Cities, Museums and Soft Power," by Gail Lord and Ngaire Blankenberg |journal=The Journal of Arts Management, Law, and Society |date=19 October 2016 |volume=46 |issue=5 |pages=300–302 |doi=10.1080/10632921.2016.1194793 |s2cid=152155287 |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10632921.2016.1194793?journalCode=vjam20 |issn=1063-2921|url-access=subscription }}
{{cite journal |last=Davidson |first=Lee |title=Review: Cities, Museums and Soft Power |journal=Museum Worlds |date=1 July 2017 |volume=5 |issue=1 |pages=250–260 |doi=10.3167/armw.2017.050120 |url=https://go.gale.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA536300462&sid=googleScholar&v=2.1&it=r&linkaccess=abs&issn=20496729&p=AONE&sw=w&userGroupName=nysl_oweb|url-access=subscription }}

{{cite book |editor-last1=Hossaini |editor-first1=Ali |editor-link1=Ali Hossaini |editor-last2=Blankenberg |editor-first2=Ngaire |title=Manual of Digital Museum Planning |date=27 March 2017 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |isbn=978-1-4422-7897-4}}