Culture Keeping Through Museum Of West African Art - Phillip Ihenacho

We are now being joined by Philip Ihenacho, who is Executive Director, Museum of West African Art Trust, to discuss the idea behind the establishment of a dedicated museum space for West African art, how the museum has contributed to the growth of local tourism, and of course the economic opportunities the museum has created for local artisans and businesses. Good day and welcome to the program. Thank you. All right, well let's get straight into it. Now, I know that Moa has already garnered a lot of international recognition, as well as being named one of the 52 places to go. Can you tell us a little bit more about being able to establish Moa on the international scene? So, I think the starting point is really about Nigeria's reputation internationally. I think a lot of Nigerians are not fully aware of how great a reputation Nigeria already has in the creative space. So particularly amongst arts and culture people, there's a lot of respect for our creativity, a lot of respect for musicians, fashion designers, filmmakers, and artists. And so there's a world out there of people interested in experiencing arts and culture in Nigeria. So when we announced that we were doing this museum, there was a lot of interest initially, which was bolstered by the work that we did at the Venice Arts Biennale. We did the Nigeria Pavilion, working with Nigerian artists and curator. That also got a lot of interest. And now that we are in the process of opening the first building, we started to see a lot of interest in the international press about what we're doing. That's fantastic. And it also shows in the foreign funding that reports suggest that you received about $20 million. That's a huge investment. Just wondering if you can share your vision for how this investment will likely transform both the museum and the broader Doe State community. So I think one of the key things is that what we don't want to be is a static museum that is showcasing objects that were made centuries ago. What we want to do is to focus on supporting creatives that are alive today, contemporary creatives, creating a platform for them to both have educational experiences as well as work experiences that will enhance their career and their opportunities, and connecting them with the global arts community. So that's really at the heart of what we're about. We decided several years ago to move away from the notion of a static, traditional, backwards-looking institution to something that goes beyond that, that is really trying to create jobs and opportunities and education for the whole sector. It's so fascinating because ultimately there's a lot of celebration for Edo's rich heritage, and you're also bringing this element of modernity into it. How are you striking the balance between those two? I think the thing that we would like to do is to celebrate the place that we are. We are deliberately in Benin City, which is regarded by many in the arts and culture world as the Florence or the Venice of West Africa. I think it's important that we recognize and respect where we are. If you see the first building that is being opened later this year, you'll see that that building is being made of mud. So it's a rammed earth structure, and it's that red earth from Benin that we want people to see when they come. So we want to ensure that we are recognizing where we are, but at the same time we want to be relevant to contemporary creatives. So as I mentioned, the idea is to showcase West African art generally, but to connect that to contemporary creatives, and to make sure that people who are in the creative space, they see us as an institution for them. Fantastic. It's great what you're doing to promote cultural tourism, and we understand that you're being called, MOA is being called, a catalyst for economic growth. Fantastic. So what kind of economic opportunities do you foresee this creating for local communities beyond what you touched on earlier? So I think there's two aspects. There's obviously an aspect that is specifically aimed at arts and culture people. So local artists, local artisans, Benin has a great tradition of artisanship. Obviously the bronze casters, the wood carvers, what we are hoping to be able to do is to work with them and to connect them to more markets, to attract audiences to them. But also, outside of just the traditional arts and culture space, if you are hosting events, as we intend to do, seminars, exhibitions, on a regular basis, then you are bringing a lot of people into the state. It means the cafes, the restaurants, the transportation, the hotels, the whole hospitality sector receives benefits. We've done work looking at, over the next five years, what would we hope to do in terms of economic opportunity, and we have calculated with our consultants that we should be able to generate, directly and indirectly, more than 25,000 jobs in Edo State. Incredible. That's really incredible, and a very welcome development. And of course, inclusive in that is the fact that there's a great opportunity to shape the next cultural leaders. What are some of the initiatives around being an instrumental part in creating those cultural leaders who we will continue to send to the rest of the world? So I think one of the core things is creating a space for people to learn patiently. By that I mean, we already have a lot of art galleries. We already have art fairs, which are important from a commercial perspective. If you're an artist looking to sell, you need a venue to be able to sell. But if you're an artist seeking to grow, you need a place that will nurture you and allow you to experiment, and that is not a commercial entity. So we are a not-for-profit. We are not about earning money. We are about supporting artists in the long run. And so the campus that we're creating is supposed to be a campus to nurture creatives, give them opportunity, expose them to others in their field. So we will be hosting events, seminars on everything from curation to archaeology to fashion design to really try and support those in the creative space. You've talked about how you're supporting the economy, your role as a liaison. Now let's talk about possible collaboration that you might have going on. How are you working with global museums and cultural institutions to create partnerships that benefit both Edo State and the wider museum community? So we have partnered already with institutions such as Oxford University. One of the things that will be embedded in the first building that we're creating is a materials lab, an archaeological science center. So one of the things that happens today is the archaeological work that is done throughout West Africa, samples are taken to be tested abroad because of the lack of facilities in West Africa. What we want to do is to stop that and to work with academics. So we're working with Université du Badon, with Benin University, with Oxford University, with Cambridge University, to establish really a center of excellence for archaeology, for example. We are working with institutions and foundations like the Mellon Foundation, which is one of the largest U.S. foundations focused on arts and culture, to, over the next few years, to be able to offer courses, to be able to offer experiences to curators, to conservationists. The first building is an archival building, a storage building. So the idea is to work to support the sector generally and to provide facilities for artists, for the creative sector, but also for museums. So one of the key things about what we're doing is we are setting up an institution that is deliberately aimed at supporting other cultural institutions. So if you are looking to hire curators, those curators will need to be trained. We are set up to train curators. The same thing with exhibition designers, the same thing with conservationists. One of the things that is not so fortunate about the weather in southern Nigeria that we have is that it's very humid, and humidity over the long run is very destructive for certain types of objects, particularly photography, paper, textiles. So we have climate-controlled rooms that are specifically aimed for long-term storage for archival material like that, and that we would like to do on behalf of institutions across West Africa, museums across West Africa, who don't have those sorts of facilities and who want a safe place to store objects when they're not being displayed. I'm glad you spoke about that because, of course, we know that the preservation, especially of the Benin bronzes and the artefacts, requires sophisticated techniques. So can you delve deeper into this idea of cultural heritage management? Because it almost sounds like it's relatively new to us. Of course, the artefacts are coming back home from where they originated, but it feels like there's a culture that also needs to be created around us and teaching us how to preserve these incredible artefacts and incredible artwork that we have. So what do you have going on specifically with regards to cultural heritage management? So I think the most important thing to start with is that we have got to work with the people who are the owners and who are the regulators. So in regards to the Benin bronzes, obviously the Oba of Benin is the spiritual leader of the Kingdom of Benin. It is from his palace that these objects were taken, and it is for the Oba of Benin to determine what happens with these objects in consultation with the federal government of Nigeria. So we have no claim at all to objects that are being returned. What we are is simply a willing servant who's willing to provide services if they are requested. So what we are doing already with the National Commission of Museums and Monuments is we're working very closely with them on some of the objects that they have in their storage from other parts of Nigeria, in fact, West Africa, and what we're hoping to do is over time to demonstrate our capability and to be able to work with whoever would like to work with us. So I think that's really important to start off with is that we are not about claiming objects or looking for objects that we own. We are an institution. It's a bit like you could think of the collections aspect a bit like a bank. If you put your money with a bank, your money belongs to you, and the bank looks after your money on your behalf, and it is up to you to determine what you put there and when you put it there. And that is a large part of our storage and collections will be devoted to objects that we don't own, that are owned by others, who would like us to help conserve those objects. And that's the starting point. Amazing. I know we're running out of time, but you've said so much that shows that you're hands-on. You've got a lot under control, especially what you mentioned about the climate-controlled rooms regarding handling humidity, for instance, based on the weather. But tell us about the challenges that are still staring you in the face. They might have not found any solutions to, just in case there are collaborators out there that might be able to jump in. So I think the single largest challenge that we will face in the long run is funding. So our business model is such that we will always be losing money. As I said, we're not a profit-making organization. So we are dependent on funding and long-term partnerships. So if there was one thing that I would appeal for is there are a number of institutions out there that are interested in education, institutions that are interested in supporting job creation, institutions that are interested in arts and culture and supporting arts and culture. We would like to be your long-term partners, and that's our core. We hope that we will work with partners over many years to really create an ecosystem in Nigeria that nourishes and supports the creative sector and generates jobs. All right, Professor Philip Ehenacho of MOA, thank you so much. This has been an incredible conversation. We wish you all the best, and we hope to get our invitations to visit your state very soon so we can take a tour. Thank you.