New Exhibit Opening at the Haffenreffer!

NEWS FROM THE HAFFENREFFER!

Dancing Tradition, Masking Change Opens April 23, 2008

at the Haffenreffer Museum of Anthropology in Bristol, RI


BRISTOL, R.I. -Brown University's Haffenreffer Museum of Anthropology in Bristol, RI is pleased to announce that its new exhibition, Dancing Tradition, Masking Change, will debut and open with a public reception on Wednesday, April 23rd, at 5:30 p.m. Ancient traditions of masked dance, rooted in Pre-Columbian ritual but veiled within Western traditions, still thrive in the festivals of highland Mexico and Guatemala.  This exhibition uses stunning 18th-19th century Guatemalan masks to explore how they reinforce traditional identities and allow cultural tensions to be expressed through the code of the dance.

"Dancing Tradition, Masking Change" is curated by Allison Pappas, a senior at Brown University, as an innovative honors thesis project in Anthropology. She became interested in pursuing a career in museums while a member of the class at Brown that co-curated the Haffenreffer's exhibit Believing Africa with faculty and staff members of the Haffenreffer Museum. Allison was drawn to these masks not only for their beauty, but also because of the fascinating role that these masks played in Guatemalan Maya communities representing their history.  She grew up in Texas where her appreciation of Latin American art evolved.

This exhibition was created with support from the Haffenreffer Family Fund and the Friends of the Haffenreffer Museum.

On-going exhibitions in the Bristol museum's galleries include Facing Mesoamerica, Kayak, Umiak, Canoe; and Packrats for Posterity.

The Haffenreffer Museum houses fascinating artifacts from the cultures of the Americas, Africa, Asia, and the Pacific. It is recognized as one of the leading anthropological teaching museums in the Northeast. The Museum's galleries in Bristol and Providence offer stimulating settings in which to learn about the world's cultural diversity. The Haffenreffer offers public lectures, performances, symposia, festivals, summer camps, and a broad range of related programs and events for all ages.

The Haffenreffer's main Museum and administrative office are located on Tower Street in Bristol on 372 acres of picturesque land along the shores of Mount Hope Bay; a satellite gallery, the Haffenreffer Museum of Anthropology at Manning Hall, opened on the Brown campus in May 2005. The Museum in Bristol is open from 11 a.m. - 5 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays from September through May; during the summer, it is open 11 a.m. - 5 p.m. Tuesday - Sunday; closed Mondays.

The gallery at Brown is open Tuesday - Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. featuring its ongoing exhibit Believing Africa.

For more information about the Haffenreffer, call 253-8388, or visit us at www.haffenreffermuseum.org.
                                        

Elizabeth Barksdale Cooper
Public Information Coordinator
Haffenreffer Museum of Anthropology

Brown University
Box 1965, 300 Tower Street
Bristol, RI 02809
Tel: 401-253-8388
Fax: 401-253-1198
Elizabeth_Cooper@Brown.edu