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As part of Global Affairs Canada’s International Scholarships Program, ELAP Faculty Mobility for Partnership Building (ELAP FMPB), provides full time faculty with the opportunity to receive funding for short term research and/or teaching activities in the Caribbean and Latin America to create new institutional collaborations and strengthen existing agreements between Canadian and non-Canadian post-secondary institutions.
Dr. Juliana Bevilacqua (Associate Professor, Queen's National Scholar, Department of Art History and Art Conservation) recently returned from her 2024 ELAP FMPB funded trip to Salvador, Brazil and has graciously shared the following reflections:
Dr. Juliana Bevilacqua's Reflections
I have been in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil for five weeks to develop a research project and offer a course for undergraduate and graduate students at the Afro-Brazilian Museum of the Federal University of Bahia. Despite the uniqueness of the Museum and the city, with 82% of its population being of African descent, there is a lack of experts in African arts in Brazilian universities. My teaching and research proposal aimed to engage students, professors, and researchers from the Afro-Brazilian Museum and the Federal University of Bahia to promote the training and development of students and museum collaborators in collections of African art. The African art collection of the Museum was formed in 1975, but since then, little attention has been given to it.
I am from Brazil, and Salvador is a very special city to me due to the strong presence of African culture. Every time I travel to Salvador, I am even more impressed by its similarities with Benin and Nigeria. As I teach African Arts at Queen’s University and know the potential and uniqueness of the Afro-Brazilian Museum's collection, it was natural that this amazing institution would be at the top of my list.
I did not know students and scholars from different universities would be so interested in my course. We had many more people than expected, some of them from outside the city. Another memorable experience was the love and care I received from students, scholars, and Museum employees during my stay in Salvador.
I came back from Bahia with many ideas and a strong desire to create partnerships involving students from Queen’s University. I also returned with thoughts about a research project involving the Federal University of Bahia and the University of São Paulo. It is too early to give more details, but I hope to strengthen the ties between Canada and Brazil very soon.
Step out of your comfort zone and be open to expanding your own limits. Global projects always remind us of how big and diverse the world is. The contact with different cultures and realities offers great opportunities to rethink and enrich our own practices as professors and researchers.
Note: Calls for applications for the Faculty Mobility for Partnership Building Program typically open up in the Fall semester.