Ghana has appointed a committee of experts to develop a “radical” new plan for museums and monuments, chaired by former scientist at the Smithsonian, Edward Ayensu.
The 13-person committee will advise the government on a “radical” new direction for museums and cultural heritage sites, referred to as monuments, in Ghana.
The President’s Committee on Museums and Monuments will be run by the ANO Institute of Arts and Knowledge and chaired by international development advisor Edward Ayensu.
Ayensu previously served as a senior scientist at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History in Washington, DC (via The Art Newspaper).
The President’s Committee includes experts in architecture, archaeology, art history, education, business, finance and law.
President’s Committee includes Nana Oforiatta Ayim
I’ve been working on bringing this committee together & lobbying govt for it to happen for many months & this morning it was finally inaugurated 🎉 Watch this space & Ghana for radical & exciting new museum, curatorial & repatriation models! https://t.co/4nuEVmOM0g
— Nana Oforiatta Ayim (@OforiattaAyim) October 29, 2020
These include Nana Oforiatta Ayim, founder of ANO, and Afua Nkansah-Asamoah, a youth campaigner based in London.
The committee will “investigate radical new ways of presenting narratives, as well as engaging communities from across social divides in Ghana, so that they might see themselves properly represented in their museums”.
The findings will be published in a report in late 2020. This will examine the history and current organisation of the Ghana Museums and Monuments Board.
The board, which was established in 1957, is responsible for museums and Unesco World Heritage sites across Ghana.
Findings will be published in a report in late 2020
This is very big news for the global museums sector — Ghana appoints experts to draw up 'radical' new plan for museums and monuments. Congratulations @OforiattaAyim for all you are achieving https://t.co/gb8MK7G9in
— Dan Hicks (@profdanhicks) October 29, 2020
The new committee also includes Kwasi Adi-Dako, Dr Dickson Adom, Edith Dankwa, Kodzo Gavua, Maame Mensa-Bonsu, William Narteh Gblerkpor, William Nuaiban Gmayi, D K Osseo-Asare and Magida Peregrino-Brimah (via Graphic).
The report will consider a new structure and financial framework for the Ghana Museums and Monuments Board. It will suggest educational initiatives, architectural projects, and research on Ghanaian objects in international collections.
“A strong museum sector can help to reflect to our people who we are, where we have come from, how we might move forward, and how we connect with the rest of the world,” said Nana Akufo-Addo, president of the Republic of Ghana.
He anticipates a “new way forward for museums and cultures that the whole world can look to”.