Biography
Gia M. Hamilton was brought on as the Executive Director and Chief Curator of New Orleans African American Museum in 2019. Prior to that, Hamilton co-founded an independent African centered school, Little Maroons in 2006; later, she opened a creative incubator space- Gris Gris Lab in 2009 and designed and led the Joan Mitchell Center artist residency program in New Orleans as a consultant from 2011- 2013 and director from 2013-2018. Hamilton received her bachelors in cultural anthropology from New York University and masters in applied anthropology from City University of New York’s Graduate Center.
Research
Where the People At (working title: Treme Story Circle) is an engaged oral history project which will take place in NOAAM's Community Reading Room, a public space which houses ephemera, archives, and collections from cultural institutions, residents, and culture bearers in historic Treme. Where the People At aims to share Life in Treme: the memories, changes, and how these changes have impacted the past, present, and future of Treme. From April through December 2022, the New Orleans African American Museum, Executive Director and Chief Curator Gia M. Hamilton, and curator Sabrina Mays will coordinate, collect, and document oral histories from the remaining 33 original Treme families and culture bearers. This research and related materials will be shaped into a curated exhibition and made available to the public from February to April 2023.
