Saturday 11 November 2017 – OAS Lecture as part of our AGM. 10:00am registration, AGM 10:30am, 11:00am lecture in The Australian Museum.
Michael A. Mel will be presenting an illustrated talk on Navigating for a ples namel: Between the Museum, Collections, and Communities
This paper focuses discussion on museums with cultural objects that were obtained and ordered to shape the way they were seen and accepted. From the Mogei in the highlands of Papua New Guinea (PNG), the physical and abstract space of Ples Namel, as a Museum is constructed to discuss cultural objects that have been defined on the one hand as entities enclosed with meaning, and on the other, as a custodian of memory, the opportunity for people to articulate experiences that are personal within the social construct of the museum as a public space.
Image of the Australian Museum courtesy of Robin Hodgson.
Objects, people, and the spaces provided opportunities to see, hear, feel to construct stories – personal and social memories. The Ples Namel is and should be the opportunity for dialogue and discussion to bring out the critical, the heinous and painful, the frivolous and enchanting of humanity. I share events of encounter and engagement where individuals immerse as individuals and at the same time in a social event to participate and articulate their presence.
Footnote: Ples namel is PNG Pidgin for Place in the middle or middle ground.