Art and Museum in Africa , livre ebook
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2024
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140
pages
English
Ebooks
2024
Obtenez un accès à la bibliothèque pour le consulter en ligne En savoir plus
Publié par
Date de parution
17 avril 2024
Nombre de lectures
0
EAN13
9789956554485
Langue
English
Poids de l'ouvrage
4 Mo
This book is a collection of essays on the history of museums and art in Africa. The publication addresses the decolonization of African museums before analysing forms and encounter, a major aspect in the African artistic creation. The issue of repatriation is also addressed not only in the complexity of the phenomenon but also as resulting to conflicting sovereignties in Africa. The collection in the end discusses the role of art in nation building in the context of Benin Republic and how museum cooperation could enhance the museum sector.
“Working without seeking any recognition and at times under very challenging circumstances Effiboley’s excellent efforts in trying to address the subject of African art, museums and restitution in a realistic and holistic way, grounded in tradition has often been thwarted by some who would have been expected to advocate for similar views. This collection of works of over 20 years demonstrates a commitment to a cause and speaks for itself not only in terms of recognizing the place of African heritage or African Art but the need to decolonize the mind, the practice and the narratives. Persistent on this journey of questioning the abnormal made normal, this body of works stands out as a true example of a cause sincerely in need of addressing.” Professor George Abungu, Emeritus Director General of the National Museums of Kenya
“Effiboley gives us a pivotal work at a vital moment when African voices will define the future of museums in Africa. His voice of deep scholarly experience guides us how to change the ways we think about art, museums and culture in Africa.” Michael Rowlands, Emeritus Professor, Department of Anthropology, University College London.
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“Working without seeking any recognition and at times under very challenging circumstances Effiboley’s excellent efforts in trying to address the subject of African art, museums and restitution in a realistic and holistic way, grounded in tradition has often been thwarted by some who would have been expected to advocate for similar views. This collection of works of over 20 years demonstrates a commitment to a cause and speaks for itself not only in terms of recognizing the place of African heritage or African Art but the need to decolonize the mind, the practice and the narratives. Persistent on this journey of questioning the abnormal made normal, this body of works stands out as a true example of a cause sincerely in need of addressing.” Professor George Abungu, Emeritus Director General of the National Museums of Kenya
“Effiboley gives us a pivotal work at a vital moment when African voices will define the future of museums in Africa. His voice of deep scholarly experience guides us how to change the ways we think about art, museums and culture in Africa.” Michael Rowlands, Emeritus Professor, Department of Anthropology, University College London.
Publié par
Date de parution
17 avril 2024
Nombre de lectures
0
EAN13
9789956554485
Langue
English
Poids de l'ouvrage
4 Mo
Art and Museum in Africa: A Decolonial Perspective Emery Patrick Effiboley
L a ng a a R esea rch & P u blishing CIG Mankon, Bamenda
Publisher:LangaaRPCIG Langaa Research & Publishing Common Initiative Group P.O. Box 902 Mankon Bamenda North West Region Cameroon Langaagrp@gmail.com www.langaa-rpcig.net
Distributed in and outside N. America by African Books Collective orders@africanbookscollective.com www.africanbookscollective.com
e-ISBN: 978-9956-554-48-5
©Emery Patrick Effiboley 2024
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, mechanical or electronic, including photocopying and recording, or be stored in any information storage or retrieval system, without written permission from the publisher
Acknowledgements This collection of essays/articles is the result of about twenty years of studies and research published in different venues. In this instance, I wish to express my deep recognition to the institutions and people who gave me support or a hand in this year-long process. First of all, I am greatly indebted to the West African Headquarters of the Ford Foundation formerly based in Lagos (Nigeria) and the International Institute of Education (IIE) in New York for offering me a travel grant in order to participate in the yearly conference of the International Committee for Museology (ICOFOM) of the International Council of Museums (ICOM) in Munich (Germany) and Brno in 2000 (Czech Republic) and for providing a grant in order to pursue my Master’s studies in museology at the Amsterdam University of the Arts (Reinwardt Academy) in the Netherlands in 2002-2004 ; and particularly to Mrs Aida Opoku-Mensah, the then Representative of the Ford Foundation, Ms Toyin Adewale, the Programme Officer for Arts and Culture and Ms Carol Jones, Senior Grants Administrator at Scholarships & Training Programs Division at the Institute of International Education (IIE) in New York. I also owe my gratefulness to the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation for the postdoctoral research fellowship I was offered in order to expand my research at the Centre for the Creative Arts of Africa (CCAA) at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg (South Africa). I also wish to express my special thanks to the following individuals for providing me their academic advice in this process. Professor Joseph C. E. Adandé from Université d’Abomey-Calavi (Republic of Benin) was in my early years at university and encouraged me in pursuing my studies abroad. My deep thanks go to Professor emeritus Rogier R. M. A. Bedaux, professor of African archaeology and material culture at the University of Leiden (The Netherlands). He co-supervised my Master thesis with Dr Peter van Mensch, professor of theoretical museology at the Reinwardt Academy and professor of cultural heritage at the University of Amsterdam (UvA) in The Netherlands. Professor Rogier Bedaux later was one of my examiners for the PhD defence at Université Paris-Ouest-Nanterre-La Défense (France). His support was instrumental in pursuing my research in all those years. Research Professor emeritus, Anne-Marie Peatrik also deserves my deep
thanks, first of all for accepting me in the PhD programme at Université Paris-Ouest-Nanterre La Défense. Her interest in my project, rigour and support was key for completing my doctoral research. I also benefited from Professor emeritus Anitra Nettleton from the University of the Witwatersrand who hosted me as postdoc fellow at the Centre for the Creative Arts of Africa where I developed a substantial part of the ideas and questioning that come to fruition through this collection. Most of the time, everybody has someone he daily refers to, a sort of domestic adviser. Professor Enoch O. Aboh was that kind of person in my academic life. This project is in a way the fruit of our extended discussions on a variety of topics where, without being historian, he always offers insightful ideas and encouragements. The last but not the least is my decade-long friend, Mathieu Agboton for giving me the opportunity of visiting Nigeria several times in my younger age and changing my outlook as a francophone. He is like the foundation of this book. It is my family to whom I owe the greatest debt. My wife, Carole, and my children, Mombola, Mahouti and Sedami To all these persons, I owe my sincere gratitude.
Table of Contents Foreword...................................................................................vii Professor George Abungu Introduction:.............................................................................1 Chapter 1: Decolonizing African Museums: Meanings and Imperatives .......................................................7 Chapter 2: Forms and Encounter: Plastic Novelties in African Artistic Creation from the Threshold of Western Modernity and Beyond, 15th to 21st century .....................................................25 Chater 3: Reflections of the issue of repatriation of looted and illegally acquired African cultural objects in Western museums....................................................53 Chapter 4: Repatriation of Cultural Objects and Conflicting Sovereignties in Post-colonial Africa.....................71 Chapter 5: Nation building in Contemporary Benin Republic: the role of art, museums, and cultural heritage.................................................................87 Chapter 6: Investigating Museum Development in Africa: From Museum Cooperation to the Appropriation of Praxis ......................................................99 References: ...............................................................................119
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Foreword Professor George Abungu, Emeritus Director General of the National Museums of Kenya This book comprises a collection of essays/articles on the subject of African art and museums including the contested issue of restitution. It is the result of about twenty years of rigorous studies and research by Prof Emery Patrick Effiboley, of the Université d’Abomey-Calavi in the Republic of Benin. Many of these articles are already in different publications but together with some unpublished works, form important collection of credible scholarship. The book comes at the right time when the subject of decolonization, sovereignty and restitution of African cultural heritage illegally acquired from the continent is a subject of global debate. This debate that critically focusses on past injustices meted on the continent, its people and its heritage during and after the colonial period has not only attracted the attention of scholars and heritage practitioners but also the political elite, who are the decision makers as well as heritage activists. For years however, many have stood aloof as the debate rages. This book therefore comes at a time when the subject of restitution in particular is not only being debated but as signs of actual restitution is beginning to take place, after a long and arduous journey of demand and refusal by parties concerned. Today it can be stated with high degree of accuracy that restitution is the subject of the moment and will continue to be so, for a long time to come. It is a subject where the scholars are beginning to interrogate the role and relevance of museums and the so called African art. They are also looking at the issues of sovereignty with regard to the question of colonization and decolonization. They are also questioning the narratives that have accompanied these so called African art within their newly defined spaces and where they are mostly valued for their aesthetic/art values. This is in contradiction to their natural environments, their traditional homes within shrines where they play active roles as mediators and often providing spiritual/ritual nourishment to communities. While scholars like Effiboley have for decades been fighting on the academic trenches against forces opposed to the Afrocentric vii
perspectives and want status quo to remain, their works have either been shunned or suppressed. Their treatment demonstrates the academic hypocrisy in many that want to silence those who champion a cause unpopular especially with the western thinking and practices. This collection of works of over 20 years however demonstrate a commitment to a cause and speaks for itself not only in terms of recognizing the place of African heritage or African Art but the need to decolonize the mind, the practice and the narratives. This however, as explained by the author is not short of fraught, suffering and humiliation as a call for the truth can lead to academic ostracization. Persistent on this journey of questioning the abnormal made normal, this body of works stands out as a true example a cause sincerely in need of addressing. Working without seeking any recognition and at times under very challenging circumstances Effibloy’s excellent efforts in trying to address the subject of African art, museums and restitution in a realistic and holistic way, grounded in tradition has often been thwarted by some who would have been expected to advocate for similar views. Instead, his narration of his experience not only demonstrate the existence of academic apartheid in many levels within the African scholars where those who want to share their views in the international academic forums often owned, managed and controlled by the west or western leaning academia can easily be denied a chance. His trials and tribulations exemplified by false promises, outright rejection of his contributions or the belittling of the same speaks of a convoluted, arrogant, insincere and discriminatory academic playing field, despite the pretence of high morals and commitment to excellence as the major factors in knowledge production and knowledge dissemination. While the debate on African art/cultural heritage, museums and restitution has occupied the minds and spirit of the African people for generations, having been victims of rape, pillaging, spoliation, ruse, forced consent, etc, it is only now that some tangible results are beginning to be realised. However, long before independence of any African country the freedom fighters and the wise elders (men and women) of the continent were calling for the return of their stolen ancestors as well as their heritage resources illegally appropriated. Kwame Nkrumah and Jomo Kenyatta among other luminaries not only demonstrated the beauty and critical roles heritage play in the African psyche through their writings and campaigns, but also called for the return of the heritage appropriated during the colonial times.
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The fight for independence was also the fight for cultural rights including rights for the return of all that had been illegally appropriated by the colonial powers and their associates. In the absence of this, and in the continuation of misrepresentation of African heritage in museums, the freedom is not complete and the process of decolonization espoused by scholars like Effiboley must continue. Addressing injustices of the past including appropriation of heritage and the attendant genocidal tendencies is agenda unresolved and work in progress that must be addressed. Respect for the traditional norms, beliefs and practices are critical. This is what this book is about. This is why this work is not just important as a collection of academic reflection but also as an act of defiance and rebellion against those who would like to keep the African voices silent and the status quo intact. It is clear that while the problem of stolen heritage and misrepresentation of the same has been between the ‘dominant’ north and the ‘dominated’ south, the discussions and debates, the knowledge production on the subject, especially on restitution and repatriation has continued to be a monopoly of the north. With the exception of a few cases, all major conferences on the subject have been and continue to be held in the north with the south as being a victim bystander. This exclusion of the voices deemed hostile to the north have been discreet but real, effective and includes academic censorship. This present work among others demonstrate the calculated attempts to silence African scholarship on a subject so dear to their hearts and which unlike many, they also live. Fifty years after one of the sons of Africa, the then UNESCO Director -General, Amadou M’bow made a passionate plea for the return of African cultural property of significance and value to people who made and cherished them, hardly anything has happened. In a “plea for restitution of an irreplaceable cultural heritage to those who created it” M’bow lamented that, “one of the most noble incarnations of a people’s genius is its cultural heritage built over centuries”. He observed that throughout history, people have been robbed of this priceless portion of inheritance “in which their enduring identity finds its embodiment” calling for the return of the same M’Bow, A-( M 2009).Nearly fifty years later nothing much had happened when the French president Emmanuel Macron in a speech in Ouagadougou promised to open the door in French museums for restitution to
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