Rooted in Memory: Cultural Tours with Robert Thompson

Murals, memorials, and monuments testify to our cultural inheritances as much as to our aesthetic ideals. In the tradition of West African griots, Robert Thompson offers a non-conventional approach to preservation in his local community of Atlanta. In this workshop, we learn to preserve history and place through storytelling and movement, tips for building institutional relations with local communities through tour programs, and approaches to storytelling in the archives.

Robert Thompson is the founder of Insight Cultural Tours which provides services in program development, management and consulting. A large portion of his early education consisted visiting museums, zoos and travel organized by his mom for him and his brother. He continued his education at Morgan State College, Pace College, Brooklyn Polytech, and New York Institute of technology before relocating in Atlanta in 1989. For 25 years, he worked as an Educational Technology Specialist providing support at Bronx Community College CUNY, Pratt Institute, and Emory University. Robert currently sits on the board of Music In the Park and is a programming partner with the Hammonds House Museum.