Enjoy this article?
Most Museums Journal content is only available to members. Join the MA to get full access to the latest thinking and trends from across the sector, case studies and best practice advice.
Oxford-Benin partnership to create West African archaeology centre
Institute will support research and skills development
The University of Oxford and the Museum of West African Art (MOWAA) are to work together to create a centre of excellence for archaeology in West Africa.
The research institute will form part of the Pavilion – the first building of MOWAA, which is under construction in Benin City, Nigeria.
The centre is intended to support skills development and world-leading research as well as the analysis of material and biological remains.
It will enable students from West African countries, or those with a strong academic interest in West African archaeology and heritage, to study a bespoke research programme on graduate courses from Oxford’s School of Archaeology.
Ore Disu, the director of the Pavilion, said the partnership “sets us out firmly on an ambitious path to establish a world-class collections facility and a centre of excellence for archaeological science, conservation and museum practice in West Africa.
“It will strengthen the pipeline for African-centred scholarship, with the view to unearth the sophistication of our shared past and power new ideas about our possible futures.”
Advertisement
Oxford said research at the centre would “underpin exhibitions and archaeological excavations, enhance the public profile of specific projects and advance the academic field”.
The initiative will also help train people with the skills “to meet the staffing needs of the Pavilion and to explore the archaeology of Benin and West Africa”, added the university. “Ultimately, the Pavilion will provide a cutting-edge facility for the benefit of all West Africa and beyond.”
The centre’s research programme will be led by Professor Shadreck Chirikure, Oxford’s Edward Hall Professor of Archaeological Science, and an adviser to EMOWAA.
Chirikure said that while some archaeological initiatives leave Africa with no training or access to publications by local scholars, “this partnership sets an example of how transformative collaboration in research and capacity building can establish a centre of excellence with equal benefits to everyone”.
EMOWAA, designed by Adjaye Architects, is intended to form part of a new cultural district in Benin City, Nigeria. Completion of the one-storey Pavilion is scheduled for 2024.