Publication
Letters to Institutions
Since 2019, Gala Porras-Kim has written several letters to prompt museums and archaeological institutes to reconsider the way in which they make conservation and restoration decisions. In her writing, Gala suggests the objects’ intended destiny might be distinct from the one imposed by the institution. She invites her addressees to think together with her about speculative proposals that try to return dignity and personhood to the people whose objects and remains are now kept in controlled conservation. These letters have become an integral part of her artwork. Thus far, the Peabody Museum in Cambridge is the only institution that has responded to her correspondence. Three of the letters published here are featured in our exhibition.
Leaving the institution through cremation is easier than as a result of a deaccession policy
Letter to Mr. Alexander Kellner, Director, National Museum of Brazil.
Los Angeles, July 31st, 2021.
Letter to Mr. Alexander Kellner, Director, National Museum of Brazil.
Los Angeles, July 31st, 2021.
Mediating with the rain
Letter to Ms. Jane Pickering, William and Muriel Seabury Howells Director, Peabody Museum of Archaeology & Ethnology, Harvard University, New York City, November 20, 2021.
Letter to Ms. Jane Pickering, William and Muriel Seabury Howells Director, Peabody Museum of Archaeology & Ethnology, Harvard University, New York City, November 20, 2021.
Proposal for the reconstituting of ritual elements of the Sun Pyramid at Teotihuacán
Letter to Mr. Juan Manuel Garibay Barrera, National Coordinator of Museums and Expositions in Mexico, Los Angeles, January 20, 2019.
Letter to Mr. Juan Manuel Garibay Barrera, National Coordinator of Museums and Expositions in Mexico, Los Angeles, January 20, 2019.
A terminal escape from the place that binds us
Letter to Ms. Soomi Lee, Director Gwangju National Museum, Los Angeles, February 16th, 2021
Letter to Ms. Soomi Lee, Director Gwangju National Museum, Los Angeles, February 16th, 2021