The Sackler Museum Podcast Project was created to encourage visitors of Harvard University's Arthur M. Sackler Museum to interact in new ways with the museum's outstanding, but often overlooked collection of ancient, Asian, Islamic, and later Indian art. Our first podcast was completed in April, and is free to download by clicking here. This first edition is a basic presentation of the pieces we feel are highlights of the second and fourth floor galleries. While there are no positioning markers inside the museum to indicate what piece is being discussed, we have done our best to provide verbal cues that move listeners through the tour. However, the podcast is only meant as a first step in one's own experience that includes pausing and lingering at any point along the guide's path.
The Sackler Museum Podcast Project asks of the museum what is lost when artifacts are exhibited without contextual information and are reduced to aesthetic objects, or testaments of their own survival. Rather than keep certain knowledge or narratives untold, the writers of this guide reclaim a small degree of curatorial authority by proposing entirely different ways of viewing a piece of art when it is accompanied by audio information. Finally, the podcast is not written primarily for or by students of art history. Contributors present artworks in ways that allow their own interests, personality, and humor to shed light on the museum's collection.
Writers and contributors include Karen Adelman, Nicole Bass, Kim Castelo, Jennifer Esch, Scott DiGiulio, Andrew Fong, Kelly Gibson, Dominique Gracia, Alexandra Hays, Eva Helfenstein, Amy Lien, Sonali Palchaudhuri, and Kate Sweeney.
Any feedback you may have about the project or podcast would be greatly appreciated and can be submitted to info@sacklerpodcast.com. Please enjoy the tour!
acknowledgements
Our sincere thanks to Lynne Stanton, Meg Howland, Cheryl Finley, Kate Sweeney, Stephanie Troisi and the Office for the Arts at Harvard.
recent news
May 26, 2007 - The Sackler Museum Podcast Project is now online! You can download the tour here.
April 20, 2007 - The Harvard Crimson has written an article about the Sackler Museum Audio Tour. You can read the article here.
