Curator Talk: On the Move

Past Event

Join the curators of the On the Move exhibition and gain insight into the life of pastoralists, who have much to teach us about living in challenging environments.

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About the Exhibition:

The exhibition On the Move invites reflection on what we might learn from nomadic and semi-nomadic pastoral communities, focusing on three geographic regions— the Central Sahara in Africa, Qatar in the Arabian Gulf and Mongolia in Inner Asia. Visitors to the exhibition will start to wonder if they can use the methods of the nomadic communities in their daily life. In a world of overexploitation of natural resources, and great social inequalities, perhaps we might learn some useful practices from the nomadic communities.

Meet the speakers:

Professor Lila Abu- Lughod:

Lila Abu-Lughod is an anthropologist and the Joseph L. Buttenwieser Professor of Social Science at Columbia University in New York City. Her first two books, 'Veiled Sentiments: Honor and Poetry in a Bedouin Society' and 'Writing Women’s Worlds: Bedouin Stories' were based on long-term ethnographic research in a community of Awlad ‘Ali Bedouin in Egypt’s western desert in the late 1970s and 1980s. She has authored several books and scholarly articles, and her latest book, 'Do Muslim Women Need Saving?' has been translated into multiple languages, including Arabic.

Dr Anja Fischer:

Anja Fischer received her PhD in anthropology from the University of Vienna. Her focus is on Sahara studies, in particular, the work, mobility and modernity of nomads. Her areas of interest include place- and space-making in arid areas. Fischer has also conducted field research for over ten years at the camps of Imuhar (Tuareg) nomads in the Central Sahara.

Dr Elizabeth Turk:

Elizabeth Turk is a research associate and affiliated lecturer in the Department of Social Anthropology at the University of Cambridge. She earned her doctorate from the same department in 2018. Turk began research in Mongolia in 2010 as a Fulbright Scholar after graduating from the University of Michigan in 2007 with a Bachelor of Science in women’s studies and in general biology. In 2013, Turk earned her Master's degree in sociocultural anthropology from Columbia University.

Tania Al Majid:

Tania Al-Majid has been an associate curator at the National Museum of Qatar for the past 10 years, where she developed content and co-curated the NMoQ’s permanent galleries about the ethnography and social history of Qatar. She has worked on temporary exhibitions such as Mal Lawal and curated a family exhibit for the Magnificent Jewels of Jean Schlumberger exhibition. Al-Majid completed her Bachelor's degree in art education at Qatar University and her Master's degree in museum and gallery practice at UCL Qatar.