Carol Damian and Arthur Dunkelman
"Kislak Treasures: Seeing the Present Through the Past"

Carol Damian and Arthur Dunkelman
"Kislak Treasures: Seeing the Present Through the Past"

Dr. Carol Damian, Curator of the Kislak Center at MDC, and Arthur Dunkelman, Curator of the Kislak Collection at the University of Miami, introduce the extraordinary treasures of the Americas in the Kislak collections at their respective institutions and discuss the meaning of these objects for a contemporary audience. What do these artifacts represent? Why? How do their symbols and rituals inspire artists today? They will also share ideas about moving forward with new themes and installations, and welcome conversation with the audience.

Dr. Carol Damian is an art historian, former Professor of Art History in the School of Art and Art History at Florida International University, and former Director and Chief Curator of the Patricia and Phillip Frost Art Museum at FIU. She has contributed to numerous publications and lectures frequently on Latin American and Caribbean art, and the local art scene. She is currently Curator of the Kislak Center, part of the Miami Dade College Special Collections, housed at the Freedom Tower; and of the Chapel of La Merced Colonial Collection at Corpus Christi in Miami.

Arthur Dunkelman is the curator of the Kislak Collection of the Early Americas, Exploration, and Navigation in Special Collections at the University of Miami Richter Library, where the exhibition Open New Worlds is ongoing at the Kislak Center Gallery. Before coming to UM, he was the director and curator of the Kislak Foundation for twenty-four years. In 2004, a portion of the Kislak Foundation Collection was donated to the Library of Congress, and Dunkelman managed the transition, research, and public outreach, and edited a comprehensive catalogue of the collection that was published by the Library of Congress in 2007.