d'afrique Article
overviewArchiAfrica Newsletter on the role of the museum in Africa today |
| Written by redactie d'Afrique |
| Tuesday, 07 February 2012 14:52 |
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There are no translations available. The December 2011 issue of the ArchiAfrica newsletter is dedicated to the role of the museum in Africa today, and more especially Ghana. We here present the introductory paragraphs of the leading story, The National Museum: Past, Present & Future Visions, by Rachel Stella Jenkins. On the 5th of March 1957, the day before the first colony in Sub-Saharan Africa declared its independence, the National Museum of Ghana, now one of the oldest museums in West Africa, was inaugurated.
So powerful was this moment and opportunity that Ghana became a Mecca for children of the Diaspora. Famous individuals such as Louis Armstrong, Maya Angelou, Muhammad Ali, C.L.R James, Martin Luther King, who visited with President Nixon for the Independence celebrations and Malcom X all came to Ghana.
For the urban generation of today faced with different challenges, what legacy remains of the high hopes of the time of independence? What is the space of the past in the present - and the future? I met with key members from the Ghana Monuments and Museums Board and prominent figures of Accra’s cultural scene to open a dialogue on the role of the museum and culture in Ghana’s growth and development.
Can the museum find its way to go beyond being a centre of memorialisation and also become a place of inspiration? As the nation becomes increasingly urban and builds more ties with the outside world, a time where traditions and customs are often forsaken in the name of development, can the museum maintain its ambition of presenting and propagating what binds Ghanaians together beyond the ancient artefacts on show? These are some of the questions my conversations brought up. Stella Jenkins' full article and the complete newsletter can be found here as a PDF file. A French version is available as well. The History & architecture of the National Museum (of Ghana), by Mae-ling Jovenes Lokko. |
| Last Updated on Tuesday, 21 February 2012 15:51 |









