Legacies of Collecting, Collaboration and Co-production: The British Museum and West Africa

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Collaboration and co-production are often seen as hallmarks of post-1970s, postcolonial museum practice. Today, forexample, the British Museum's (BM) Africa Programme has developed models for working with museums based ondialogue and exchange. Yet between 1945 and 1970 staff in the BM's Department of Ethnography were already workingwith museums and individuals in the decolonising nations of West Africa: the BM gifted and sold objects to supportdeveloping organisations in the region; resources and expertise were exchanged during fieldwork in West Africa, andAfrican anthropologists visited London to share knowledge and gain training. For example, Richard Nunoo, who becamethe National Museum of Ghana's first African director, spent six months attached to the BM's Department of Ethnography,1954-55.With a focus on the BM, this CDP will investigate this mid-century period of UK museum collaboration with individuals andinstitutions in West Africa, exploring the collections and interpretations that were generated and the practices that weredeveloped at this critical but understudied point in museum anthropology. Focusing on either Nigeria or Ghana (to bedecided by the student), it will ask: What was the nature of BM and other museum collaboration with individuals/institutionsin West Africa in the 25 years surrounding the country's independence (1945-1970)? Developing this central researchquestion, the student will investigate the ways in which those in West Africa influenced the contents and interpretation ofthe BM at this time (and vice versa), how collaboration as professional practice changed over this period, and the impact ofnation-building in West Africa (and in the UK) on this process. Through comparison with other UK/European institutions tobe identified by the student, the project will also ask if the BM was unique in its collaborative activities or part of wider mid-century trends. Building on these key historical questions, the student will also investigate: What is the legacy of this historyin terms of collections care today? How can enriched understandings of the foundations of collaboration between Europeanmuseums, such as the BM, and West African individuals/institutions support museums' collaborative activities in thepresent?Annual reports and other internal documents from the BM's archives, the William Fagg papers at the Royal AnthropologicalInstitute, and the archives of the National Museum of Ghana or National Museum of Nigeria will form the main resourcesfor this research. The student will have scope to identify further relevant archives/collections, and to define the nature of'collaboration' via their investigations.Plan: Y1: literature review/archival research at the BM and survey of selected other UK institutions; secondary research onEuropean institutions and their relationships with African museums; training in BM collections management system. End ofY1 and start of Y2: 2 months in Ghana or Nigeria, analysing archives/conducting interviews. Remainder of Y2: return to theBM to consolidate understanding of historical and recent instances of collaboration at BM and selected UK institutions. Y3:write up research for examination.