Toward a Museum Culture in Ghana: Processes and Challenges

Abstract

This article discusses how the Institute of African Studies mounted a community‐based exhibition drawing on indigenous knowledge and narratives of culture contact and influence, with the hope that this, and similar exhibitions in Ghana, would help to develop a museum culture in local communities. The article also addresses the methods and procedures used in developing the content of the local exhibition, including consultations with leaders of Sekondi and neighboring areas.

The Social Benefits of Heritage and Chinese Ethnic Minorities

“…I think they have taken a wrong turning. History can’t be separated from the whole lived context, and the museum’s aim should be to raise awareness of what that whole feels like (Labi). One anthropologist has defined the past as a ‘negotiable good’ (Herzfeld, 1991).…”

Les bienfaits sociaux du patrimoine et les minorités ethniques en Chine

“…Je pense qu’ils ont pris un mauvais virage. L’histoire ne peut pas être séparée du contexte vécu dans son intégrité, et le but d’un musée devrait être d’éveiller les sensations apportées par ce tout (Labi). Un anthropologue a défini le passé comme un ‘bien négociable’ (Herzfeld, 1991).…”