Jamaica-born Sarah Clunis named curator of African Collections at Peabody Museum

The Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology at Harvard University appointed Dr Sarah Clunis as director of academic partnerships and curator of African Collections. She starts on August 30, 2021.

Clunis, originally from Kingston, Jamaica, received her PhD in art history in 2006 from the University of Iowa. She joins the Peabody Museum from Louisiana’s Xavier University, where she is director of the Xavier University Art Gallery, supervisor of the Art Collection team, and assistant professor of art history. She has taught art history for over 20 years at public universities and historically Black colleges and universities.

“The Peabody’s collection offered me a mirror when I was studying in Boston as a teenager and later as a college student. As both an immigrant and a woman of colour, the collection gave me important insight into how the material culture of under-represented communities can be a key factor in promoting more diverse and inclusive perspectives,” says Clunis.

The extensive African collection comprises approximately 16,000 ethnographic and 11,000 archaeological objects that were collected largely between 1867 and 1940. A large percentage of the ethnographic collections came from missionaries working in Africa during the early 2oth century. This collection comprises 19th- and 20th-century cultural material such as masks, textiles, and utilitarian objects from multiple countries, including Nigeria, Liberia, Cameroon, and Uganda. Included in the archaeological collections are artefacts excavated from sites in Egypt and Sudan by Oric Bates and George Reisner, as well as Paleolithic material from East Africa, including Olduvai Gorge.

GLOBAL HUMAN EXPERIENCE

“The Peabody’s collection and its history reflect the museum’s ongoing efforts to promote the material culture of under-represented cultures as fundamental aspects of understanding our global human experience,” says Dr Clunis. “These collections speak of transformation and healing and encourage social- justice efforts through a multitude of voices that contribute to the human story. I am so honoured to now be a part of that story.”

As director of academic partnerships, she will oversee the museum’s work as a centre for collections-based teaching and learning at Harvard and the site of the museum as a place for student and faculty engagement and critique.

“The museum’s current efforts in ethical stewardship to look honestly at our past and the legacies of colonialism and imperialism found in the collections highlight the urgent need to reimagine museum practice, especially in our engagement with the Harvard curriculum in partnership with students and faculty,” said Senior Curator Dr Diana Loren. “Dr Clunis was extremely successful in making the Xavier galleries into a dynamic space and resource for students, and we’re excited to see how she will envision this work to build community at the Peabody Museum. We are grateful for the creative energy, expertise, and scholarship that Dr Clunis brings to the Peabody.”