This research project addresses the global role of visual art exhibitions.
The art of diplomacy encompasses a range of actors and institutions—artists, diplomats, patrons, state representatives, publics—and can take shape as gifts of art, touring exhibitions and state collections, art in embassies, and participation in biennials. Building on research establishing the study of exhibitions as a subfield of the discipline (Ferguson, Greenberg, Nairne 1996; Koskinen 2024), our study focuses on exhibitions and their capacity as a powerful form of identification and influence. Recognizing that art has long been framed in terms of national identity, we examine how exhibitions function in an international context to advance geopolitical identities, including those beyond the nation—for instance, serving to buttress regional formations like North America or reinforcing commonalities as part of bilateral ties. This project aims to address the global field of art history, including discussions of curatorial frameworks, media coverage, programming, and the social spaces created around exhibitions.
Author
Jeffrey Brison (he/him)
Co-founder of NACDI, Director of Cultural Studies and Professor of History, Queen's University, NACDI
Jeffrey Brison is Director of the Cultural Studies Program and Professor in History at Queen's University and a founding member of the North American Cultural Diplomacy Initiative (NACDI).
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Canada
Author
Lynda Jessup (she/her)
Director of NACDI, Vice Dean in the Faculty of Arts and Science at Queen’s University, NACDI
Lynda Jessup is Vice Dean in the Faculty of Arts and Science at Queen’s University and Director and co-founder of the North American Cultural Diplomacy Initiative (NACDI).
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Canada
Author
Sascha Priewe (he/him)
Co-founder and Team member of NACDI; Director of Collections & Public Programs at the Aga Khan Museum; Associate Professor in the Department of the History of Art, University of Toronto, and Adjunct Associate Professor in Cultural Studies, Queen’s University, NACDI
A Co-Founder of the North American Cultural Diplomacy Initiative, Sascha Priewe is the Director of Collections & Public Programs at the Aga Khan Museum in Toronto.
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Canada
Author
Sarah E.K. Smith (she/her)
Canada Research Chair in Art, Culture and Global Relations; Associate Professor, Faculty of Information and Media Studies, Western University; NACDI Team Member, Western University
Sarah E.K. Smith is Associate Professor in the Faculty of Information and Media Studies at Western University, where she holds the Canada Research Chair in Art, Culture and Global Relations.
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Canada
