Interpreting Ethiopian Culture: Connecting Process, Product, and Artist

In this paper, Margaret M. Ropp of the Michigan State University Museum discusses a study that explored visitors' experiences with the exhibit, "Ethiopia: Traditions of Creativity" and the role that the video interpretation played. The exhibition team was concerned that African art is often seen as primitive, anonymous, and devoid of creativity, so they developed individual videos for the 11 featured artists in an effort to counter those stereotypes. The major finding is that the videos helped the visitors who watched them to connect the creative process, the artist and the final product. Visitors also reported that the videos made the people seem more real, personal, and contemporary. A copy of the interview instrument is included in the appendix of this paper.