Josephine Mills

Josephine Mills is the Director/Curator of the University of Lethbridge Art Gallery and a Professor in the Dept of Art at the University of Lethbridge, Canada. She has worked as a curator and public programmer in art galleries and artist-run centres in Saskatoon and Vancouver.

Mills has a PhD in Communication Studies from Concordia University and is a graduate of the Museum Leadership Institute at the Getty Center. Her research interests focus on the relationship between art and concepts of public in Canada with specific attention to issues involved with public engagement for art galleries and within artist’s practices.

Mills is a past President of the Canadian Art Museum Directors’ Organization / Organisation des Directeurs des Musées d’Art du Canada and a past President of the University and College Art Gallery Association of Canada.

She is organizing the outreach and community engagement components of Mootookakio’ssin.

Speaking at:

MuseumNext Digital Summit
Tuesday, 23 February 2021

Mootookakio’ssin: Blackfoot Digital Project

The Blackfoot people have almost no access to their own historical material. Collecting Indigenous objects was a core part of colonial practices. Our project creates detailed digital images of Blackfoot objects in museum in Britain and thereby allows people living in Canada to connect with the knowledge and skills these objects can teach. Mootookakio’ssin (‘distant awareness’) is founded on the core Blackfoot perspective that knowledge is something we have a responsibility to care for and to share. The project aims to support contemporary Blackfoot artists and to build bridges between Blackfoot and non-Indigenous people.

Find the full programme here