New Perspectives on Collections Management at the Musée National du Burkina Faso

Abstract

The Musée National de Burkina Faso - MNB (National Museum of Burkina Faso) was one of the first museums founded in West Africa in the wake of regional independence movements. Having long borne the consequences of geographical and institutional nomadism, the museum is now built on an area of 29 hectares in the heart of Burkina Faso's capital, Ouagadougou. Although today its storage rooms seem to meet standards for the conservation of collections, further efforts need to be made. This case study develops a historical approach to understanding the evolution of the National Museum and its collections, particularly through the lens of storage management. It leads to new perspectives around the museum, particularly with regard to the inclusion of Living Human Treasures to its programmes. In addition, in a national context marked by multiple terrorist attacks that have led to the destruction of heritage, the role of the National Museum in the conservation of movable heritage from other museums deserves to be questioned.

Keywords:

• Burkina Faso
• Burkina Faso museums
• case study
• collections
• national Museum
• Living Human Treasures
• terrorism

Notes

1 Thanks also to the persistence of Guy Lemoal.

2 Registre d’inventaire du Musée national (Inventory Registry of the National Museum)

3 This cultural event has been organised since 1989 and is an opportunity to celebrate the country’s richness and cultural diversity through the arts.

4 From a presentation (February 2019) by Kaboré Evariste, former Director of Research and Collections (DRC) at the National Museum.

5 https://icom.museum/fr/news/bomaves-travelling-museum/

6 Dozos are traditional hunters present in several West African countries: Burkina Faso, Mali, Ivory Coast, Guinea and so on.

7 These three museums remain in Burkino Faso, but with restricted public access. Some of their artefacts have been destroyed.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Bély Hermann Abdoul-Karim Niangao

Bély Hermann Abdoul-Karim Niangao is a museum curator and the former Director of Exhibitions and Mediation at the Musée National du Burkina Faso (MNB). He is currently Director of Conservation and Promotion of Cultural Heritage at the Directorate General of Cultural Heritage/ Ministry of Culture, Arts and Tourism of Burkina Faso. He is the author of several publications on museography and heritage conservation issues in Burkina Faso. He is also currently a Doctoral candidate in cultural heritage law at the University of Perpignan (France) and at Senghor University in Alexandria, Egypt.