The RE-ORG Method Applied to Collection Storage at the Andafiavaratra Palace Museum, Madagascar

Abstract

In June 2019, Madagascar was chosen as a host country for a RE-ORG programme, a method developed by ICCROM and UNESCO and applied transnationally to help museums to improve the management of their collections in storage. This activity, initiated by UNESCO, was financed by the government of Japan and carried out by the Ministry of Communication and Culture in Madagascar.

In December 1995, the Rova of Antananarivo, which housed the historic Queen’s Palace, was destroyed by a fire. Thirty per cent of the collections saved from the flames were transferred to the Prime Minister’s Andafiavaratra Palace, now a museum. For over two decades, the unexhibited collections were stored in unstructured rooms that did not comply with principles of preventive conservation.

Putting theory into practice, the RE-ORG method was applied to the royal collections at the Andafiavaratra Museum in 2019. The project primarily involved the reorganisation of the storage rooms and training during two weeks for Malagasy museum staff. A unique approach was taken: the 26 participants from 12 museums returned to their respective museums when their training was completed with the intention to reorganise or create their own storage facilities.

The RE-ORG project in Madagascar led the ICOM National Committee to a general review of Malagasy museums. This case study shows how improving storage areas in Malagasy museums led to greater awareness among the local museum community and visitors on the importance of preserving cultural heritage.

Keywords:

• museum storage
• RE-ORG
• royal collection
• Madagascar
• case study

Acknowledgements

We extend our heartfelt thanks to all our partner institutions and their respective staffs, and to the museums and participants who contributed to the success of RE-ORG in Madagascar, with a special mention for Karalyn Monteil and the government of Japan.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Bako Rasoarifetra

Bako Rasoarifetra is a qualified historian who specialises in archaeology, museology and heritage. An educator and researcher, she heads up the ethnology lab at the Institut de Civilisation-Musée d’Art et d’Archéologie (ICMAA) at the University of Antananarivo, Madagascar. She has completed courses on general museology at the Musée de l’Homme and the Musée du Quai Branly in France, and followed training modules with the Institut National du Patrimoine, Paris. She is the acting Chair of the ICOM National Committee in Madagascar, and is a member of several organisations that work to support heritage.