The Lives and Deaths of an Ethnographic Museum: History, Violence and Curatorial Collaborations in Guinea-Bissau
This article discusses the history of the National Ethnographic Museum of Guinea-Bissau (West Africa) and an exhibition we curated about it in Bissau in 2017, which serendipitously led to its reopening. The Museum, which was created in 1988, had ceased to exist because of a civil war in 1998-99. Tha...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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University of Leicester
2021-11-01
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| Series: | Museum & Society |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://journals.le.ac.uk/ojs1/index.php/mas/article/view/3825 |
| _version_ | 1819142447246082048 |
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| author | Ramon Sarró Ana Temudo |
| author_facet | Ramon Sarró Ana Temudo |
| author_sort | Ramon Sarró |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This article discusses the history of the National Ethnographic Museum of Guinea-Bissau (West Africa) and an exhibition we curated about it in Bissau in 2017, which serendipitously led to its reopening. The Museum, which was created in 1988, had ceased to exist because of a civil war in 1998-99. Thanks to a reconstruction of contact prints in the archives of Bissau, we were able to organize an exhibition and to conduct research on the history of the museum. Methodologically, the article illustrates the potential of photography in museum historiography and revitalization. Thematically, it exemplifies the history of museography in West Africa from the mid-1980s through the 1990s, the role of museums in the creation of national heritage, and, by looking at the present situation of the Museum at stake, the fragile place that ethnographic museums have in the politics of culture in today’s Africa. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-22T12:10:29Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-0f44a4b9d9844121b5e80da315f9a91a |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1479-8360 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-22T12:10:29Z |
| publishDate | 2021-11-01 |
| publisher | University of Leicester |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Museum & Society |
| spelling | doaj.art-0f44a4b9d9844121b5e80da315f9a91a2022-12-21T18:26:18ZengUniversity of LeicesterMuseum & Society1479-83602021-11-0119336938110.29311/mas.v19i3.38253196The Lives and Deaths of an Ethnographic Museum: History, Violence and Curatorial Collaborations in Guinea-BissauRamon Sarró0Ana Temudo1School of Anthropology and Museum Ethnography University of OxfordResearch Centre for Science and Technology of the Arts, Arts School Catholic University of PortugalThis article discusses the history of the National Ethnographic Museum of Guinea-Bissau (West Africa) and an exhibition we curated about it in Bissau in 2017, which serendipitously led to its reopening. The Museum, which was created in 1988, had ceased to exist because of a civil war in 1998-99. Thanks to a reconstruction of contact prints in the archives of Bissau, we were able to organize an exhibition and to conduct research on the history of the museum. Methodologically, the article illustrates the potential of photography in museum historiography and revitalization. Thematically, it exemplifies the history of museography in West Africa from the mid-1980s through the 1990s, the role of museums in the creation of national heritage, and, by looking at the present situation of the Museum at stake, the fragile place that ethnographic museums have in the politics of culture in today’s Africa.https://journals.le.ac.uk/ojs1/index.php/mas/article/view/3825ethnographic museumshistoryguinea-bissauheritagephotography |
| spellingShingle | Ramon Sarró Ana Temudo The Lives and Deaths of an Ethnographic Museum: History, Violence and Curatorial Collaborations in Guinea-Bissau Museum & Society ethnographic museums history guinea-bissau heritage photography |
| title | The Lives and Deaths of an Ethnographic Museum: History, Violence and Curatorial Collaborations in Guinea-Bissau |
| title_full | The Lives and Deaths of an Ethnographic Museum: History, Violence and Curatorial Collaborations in Guinea-Bissau |
| title_fullStr | The Lives and Deaths of an Ethnographic Museum: History, Violence and Curatorial Collaborations in Guinea-Bissau |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Lives and Deaths of an Ethnographic Museum: History, Violence and Curatorial Collaborations in Guinea-Bissau |
| title_short | The Lives and Deaths of an Ethnographic Museum: History, Violence and Curatorial Collaborations in Guinea-Bissau |
| title_sort | lives and deaths of an ethnographic museum history violence and curatorial collaborations in guinea bissau |
| topic | ethnographic museums history guinea-bissau heritage photography |
| url | https://journals.le.ac.uk/ojs1/index.php/mas/article/view/3825 |
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