During the Covid-19 pandemic, museums and other cultural institutions were forced to close their doors due to lockdowns and social distancing. Even when they reopened, low visitor numbers and a shortage of cash led to further closures, some permanent.
The iconic Apartheid Museum in Johannesburg closed in 2021 but reopened in April 2022, with director Christopher Till reminding the public that the museum is not just “a storeroom of artefacts or a static exhibition” but an ongoing resource for a society quick to forget the lessons of the past.
This does not mean museums do not face ongoing challenges. Nowadays, young people are more interested in digital entertainment than history lessons, gradually eroding a sense of community.
Many museums missed a golden opportunity to engage with people during the pandemic, says Professor George Okello Abungu, an archaeologist and Emeritus Director-General of the National Museums of Kenya. “We were unprepared and didn’t have the means to communicate with people in their living rooms,” he says.
“Nowadays, young people are more interested in digital entertainment than history lessons, gradually eroding a sense of community.”
Because museums are largely underfunded, they find it difficult to innovate, let alone use technology – and, as such, they struggle to position themselves as voices of cultural authority. Yet this is precisely what they should be, says Abungu, who notes that their role and ownership model need to change.
“They should not be ‘passive spaces’ managed by institutions that are still part of the architecture of colonialism,” he states. “They should be sites of community engagement, not temples of privilege where the value of artefacts is determined by Western standards. You can’t ask for funding from parliamentarians who represent disadvantaged communities if your collections are irrelevant to their everyday lives,” he notes.
The Village Museum in Tanzania, for example, uses its resources to bring communities together to share stories about how they live, what their customs are and what their heritage means to them.
“The private sector has a key role to play in driving an understanding that museums should be all-inclusive spaces, where all stakeholders have a share of voice.”
Professor George Okello Abungu, an archaeologist and Emeritus Director-General of the National Museums of Kenya
The National Museum of Kenya is working with the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organisation, the Kenya Forestry Research Institute, the Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Services, the University of Nairobi and the Natural History Museum in London to help farmers identify harmful insects that threaten food security. This is a far cry from elitist institutions that fail to recognise themselves as part of their surrounding communities, says Abungu.
He asserts that the private sector has a key role to play in driving an understanding that museums should be all-inclusive spaces, where all stakeholders have a share of voice. “Museums have wonderful sites at their disposal and companies can add value by launching products or hosting events there,” he says.
They should be viewed as places of dialogue and conflict resolution, making them ideal vehicles of democratisation. “They can be neutral spaces where everyone can be heard,” Abungu notes. “We shouldn’t think of them as places where dead things are kept, but where the past comes alive.”
To overcome funding challenges, Abungu stresses the need for museums to be owned and used by communities, and to cooperate rather than compete with other stakeholders. “In this way, they can get the attention and support they deserve, which will ensure their sustainability,” he concludes.
Read more about supporting arts and culture for development:
- Read the Overview of CSI spend on arts and culture in 2023.
- Read the 2022 research findings: Overview of CSI spend on arts and culture 2022.
Source: The original version of this article was published in the Trialogue Business in Society Handbook 2023 (26th edition).
