Muppet Diplomacy: Children’s Media and Global Cultural Policy (Spring 2022)
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Muppet Diplomacy addresses how global, socio-political issues are communicated via children’s media and how fictional, lovable characters have been deployed across borders as advocates. From Elmo and his father Louie defining racism in the wake of the George Floyd protests in the United States; to Kami, an HIV-positive Muppet in South Africa promoting global health initiatives; to Noor and Aziz, sibling Rohingya Muppets living in a refugee camp in Bangladesh. Children’s media serves as a dynamic platform for international representation and peacebuilding opportunities.
Moderated by:
Sidney Mori Garrett (MAAAP 2023), Project Row Houses Curatorial Assistant and Arts Coordinator
Jamila Johnson (MAAAP 2023), Student-in-Residence for the Association of Art Administration Educators
Featuring:
JooYoung Choi, Creator of “Cosmic Womb” and interdisciplinary artist (Houston)
Naomi Moland, Author of Can Big Bird Fight Terrorism?: Children’s Television and Globalized Multicultural Education (Washington, D.C.)
Co-produced by:
Erica Cheung (MAAAP/MAAH 2024)
Supervising Faculty:
Asha Iman Veal
With her Stories by Strangers project, student Nitya Mehrotra uses her skills as an artist to tell the stories of sexual and mental abusive survivors.
