Many threads wove together at the University of the West Indies (UWI) Museum on May 18:
It was International Museum Day 2016, with the theme of Museums & Cultural Landscapes – landscapes interpreted as geographic, historical, economic, social and cultural contexts in which museums exist and operate.
What more appropriate time for an extended exploration of the context, significance and impact of the game-changing 1966 visit to Jamaica by Ethopian Emperor Haile Selassie. The visit is commemorated in the museum’s current visiting exhibition – just extended into June.
The To-Do list for 2016 is already stretching, but it’s clear that a major focus for the New Year must be to harvest memories, even as we engage with our various stakeholders. Now that the UWI is approaching its seventh decade, it is also in a period when there are fewer and fewer alumni and retirees from the pioneering years to help us fill gaps in the record.