Papaye n° 3
Museums
in Africa : When
Everything Is Needed
The
first museums appeared in West Africa in the late thirties. This apparition has
something to do with the former system of the French Institute of Black Africa
(IFAN) whose headquarters were located in Dakar. The pitch was given by the
first ethnographic collections with Dakar museum. Other collections
followed but with a delay in Niger in the fifties and in Togo ten years after
the independence . Today, museums are well spread (private and public), but
their situation is far from brilliant. “Museums’ situation in many African
countries remains powerfully dependent on their historical evolution...” said
Claude Ardouin , the former manager of WAMP during a conference at the
ethnographic Museum of Stockholm on “the concept of culture special attention
to museum approach”. According to him, after the independence IFAN’s system
was dismantled and only the center located in Dakar was left, and it was renamed
Black African fundamental Institute. In other countries, the former centers were
often transformed to national museums. Thus, these museums mainly “affiliated
to research centers or to national research institutes didn’t really include
scientific research in their activities. They appeared as structures assigned to
keep the old things of the past, and to possibly show them, while research is a
matter for the institute specialized sections”, deplored the former chief
executive of WAMP.
Therefore,
these museums, appendix of research “don’t have any prestige and don’t
provide possibilities of scientific career capable of attracting young
researchers...the technical staff doesn’t exist any more”. Because, he said,
during the colonial period a few African technicians had been trained “on-the-job”,
but not sufficiently to meet effectively to the technical requirements of a
museum.
Today,
among the fifteen states of the West African countries Economic Community(CEDEAO)
including Mauritania, the West African Museum Program has listed 142 historical
institutions . In the collecting an
ethnographic presence prevailed. But also, according to WAMP, more localized
archeological collections, and historical objects in some museums have to be
mentioned . Concerning contemporary art , the collection are more recent
and localized in certain national and private museums. Thre are few
museums whose collections are representative of flora, of marine, aquatic, land
fauna, or of war or forces armies(Senegal, Nigeria, Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire)
while only one techniques and sciences museum is identified in Accra, Ghana, as
well one museum of special documents(philatelic, numismatic, iconography) exists
in Praia, Cabo Verde. Even if museums are numerous and diverse, they aren’t
all attractive. And their internal management isn’t an easy job, even if we
consider the financial aspect, the lack of training for a staff (which is
sometime amateur), the lack of articulation for a good museum policy susceptible
to interest the audience. As a result the general context remains often
characterized by a lack of cultural and scientific policy clearly formulated. In
fact, the cultural patrimony, in spite of the statements, is far from being
included in the global vision of the nation’s cultural and social evolution.
And as a result there isn’t any defined, regulated, planned museum policy :
though it is considered as a necessary attribute, the museum is scarcely
perceived as a dynamic and complex development tool. As a result, heavy slowness
prevails, making the research of solutions for the big amount of problems a
difficult task.
Regarding
the problem of means, they show the inadequacy notably of equipment in the
fields of preservation, conservation, security and equipment for pictures,
reproduction or projection... According to WAMP inquiry, the financial needs in
museums, whether public or private, are constant in general. And their solution
depends not only on ordinary maintenance activities, but also on implementing
(or not)annual programs of these institutions... WAMP raises the issue of
security in museum ; this must be considered as a major and permanent
preoccupation in relation to fire risks, to objects disappearance linked to
illegal dealings of cultural possessions. We haven’t forgotten yet the
stealing of one of Mourtala Diop’s works at the African Art
Museum of Dakar.
Another
inadequacy to set off, is museum public frequenting. Why local people don’t go
to our museums ? It’s not merely a technical problem of presentation. We
rather need a promotion policy directed to audiences disinterested in visiting
museums. One thing is noticeable in all African countries, our museum’s image
is unknown by the local public. There lies a problem hiding another one : museum
staff training. The need is obvious
in museology and museographic techniques, and it should be solved urgently. The
problem is that in the whole continent, there are only two specialized training
centers which are the Museology and Archeology Institute of Jos (Nigeria) and
the PREMA center of Porto Novo( African Patrimony school). However, in certain
universities, some departments provide training unit in museology.
Babacar Diop