Ngaire Blankenberg (born 1971 or 1972 [1]) is a Canadian-born South African museum designer, consultant, and administrator. [2] She is a former director of the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art.
Blankenberg's parents are South African and she was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba. [1] Her mother is White and her father is Coloured (and albino); they had relocated to Canada as their interracial marriage was illegal in South Africa at that time. [1] [3] She earned a journalism degree from Carleton University and worked for 12 years in television and documentaries, including a year as a videographer on the CBC newsmagazine series Road Movies, [4] before moving to South Africa to study media and cultural studies, earning a masters degree from the University of Natal. [3] [5] She moved back to Canada and began working as a museum designer and consultant. [3]
Blankenberg has worked with the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa, Superblue Miami, the museum at Constitution Hill, Johannesburg, and the Canadian Museum for Human Rights in Winnipeg. [6] [7] She is noted for her expertise in developing decolonization plans for cultural institutions as well as concept development and public engagement. [5]
Blankenberg has worked as a consultant with Dutch design firm Kossmann.dejong and with Toronto-based Lord Cultural Resources, where she was principal consultant. [8] [9] In 2016, along with Lord co-founder Gail Lord, she co-edited Cities, Museums and Soft Power for the American Alliance of Museums. [9] Lord and Blankenberg argued that the concept of soft power should be expanded from the political sphere to include "cultural and urban life." [9]
From 2021 until 2023, she was the director of the National Museum of African Art in Washington, D.C. [6] When she was appointed director on July 7, 2021, she announced her ambition to "redefine, heal and reconcile". [5] During her tenure, Blankenberg was a leading advocate for repatriation of artifacts in the museum's collection, [10] and in 2022 the museum returned 29 looted Benin Bronzes to Nigeria. [11] Blankenberg resigned from her position on March 31, 2023, citing "individual and institutional resistance". [6]
Following her resignation, Blankenberg returned to South Africa. [12]