Hartford Business Journal

30 HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | DECEMBER 5, 2022 Arts Biz Wadsworth Atheneum fellow curator Hamid Hemat standing on the first floor of the Hartford-based museum, which has 75,000 square feet of exhibition space. HBJ PHOTO | ROBERT STORACE Afghanistan native Hemat aims to diversify Wadsworth Atheneum's collection, customer base By Robert Storace rstorace@hartfordbusiness.com D iversity has become a major focus for most arts institutions in Connecticut and throughout the country as museums, theaters and other orga- nizations invest in outreach efforts to attract a broader, younger and more ethnic audience. Hartford's Wadsworth Atheneum is no exception, and as part of those efforts it recently hired Hamid Hemat, a native of Kabul, Afghani- stan, as a fellow curator. Hemat — who has extensive experience working as a curator for various Afghanistan-based institutions — was brought on in September to recommend more diverse projects the museum could undertake. He's also tasked with sifting through the Wadsworth's approx- imately 16,000-stored artifacts, looking for diverse art the museum hasn't traditionally highlighted. His position is unique because it's being partially funded by Hartford HealthCare, which is providing $20,000 annually for the next three years to help underwrite Hemat's salary. "I want to bring out the other side of art; how to bring patterns and visual items to life," said Hemat, who, in Afghanistan, was interviewed numerous times by local media for his knowledge of Islamic art. "We need to be more ethnically diverse and learn about different works of art. Audiences value diversity." In the short term, Hemat will put his energy into organizing exhibits on the influence of centuries-old Islamic art in the western world, including the United States. Islamic art, he noted, is "mainly figurative art with a rich history." Figurative art describes any form of modern art that retains strong references to the real world, and particularly to the human figure. Later, Hemat said, he'd like to explore exhibits highlighting women in art as well as art from ethnic, non-European countries. It's a massive undertaking that Wadsworth leaders believe the 34-year-old Hemat — who received his training in traditional arts, callig- raphy, sculpture and oil paintings — is equipped for. "We've never had someone before whose job is to launch into the sheer breadth and depth of the collections here," said Wadsworth director Matthew Hargraves, who is Hemat's direct supervisor. "Hamid is absolutely phenomenal with his knowledge of almost every process of making art because he is a scholar and an artist himself. He brings a great perspective to the many artifacts and objects we have in the collection." Urban appeal The Wadsworth opened its doors in 1844 and is the oldest continually operating public art museum in the HAMID HEMAT Fellow Curator Wadsworth Atheneum Education: Bachelor's degree in fine arts, Kabul University in Afghanistan; Master's degree in visual arts, Kabul University; University of Arts in Belgrade, Serbia Age: 34

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