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The new Bët-bi Museum by atelier masōmī will continue a shift toward cultural justice in Senegal

2022-05-17T12:32:00-04:00

A historic new museum is set to take shape in West Africa, the vision of the Josef and Anni Albers Foundation and designer Mariam Kamara of Niger’s atelier masōmī.

Bët-bi is said to be the first institution dedicated to the (temporary) collection and display of repatriated objects taken from their native lands in a reversal of controversial practices which have been at the heart of many Western museum operations since their beginnings in Colonialism.

Image courtesy atelier masōmī

The studio beat out four other firms based in Africa for the commission, including Rwanda’s MASS Design Group and the Moroccan firm Aziza Chaouni Projects.

Located in the Kaolack region of southern Senegal, Bët-bi (or “The Eye” in Wolof) aims to position itself as an intermediary between Western art-collecting institutions and surrounding nations in addition to serving in its functional capacity as an educational fount to the area. In this regard, its mission and scope are similar to that of the planned Ed...

'Undoing of objectification:' Adjaye Associates unveils design for new Edo Museum of West African Art

2020-11-16T13:55:00-05:00

The three-story building, designed by David Adjaye, looks almost like a palace from the ancient Kingdom of Benin. On Friday, the architect, the British Museum and the Nigerian authorities also announced a $4 million archaeology project to excavate the site of the planned museum, and other parts of Benin City, to uncover ancient remains including parts of the city walls.

In October 2019, Adjaye Associates was selected to design a new museum to house historic artifacts looted by colonial powers in Benin City, modern-day Nigeria. Designs for this planned Edo Museum of West African Art were unveiled on Friday.

"We are proposing an undoing of the objectification that has happened in the West through full reconstruction," said Ghanaian-British architect David Adjaye in a statement. "The new museum design reconstructs the inhabitation of these forms as pavilions that enable the recontextualization of artefacts. Decoupling from the Western museum model, this museum will perform as a reteaching tool — a place to instill an understanding of the magnitude and importance of these civilizations and cultures."

Image: Adjaye Associates

"Adjacent to the Oba’s Palace, the new EMOWAA draws inspiration from its historical architectural typologies and establishes its own courtyard in the form of a public garden, exhibiting a variety of indigenous flora and a canopy tha...

Adjaye Associates selected to design museum in Nigeria for repatriated artifacts

2019-10-04T13:39:00-04:00

Architect David Adjaye has been selected to design a new museum in Nigeria that may one day hold cultural and artistic works that were previously looted from the region by colonial powers.

Adjaye Associates, who helped design the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C., has been commissioned to undertake a feasibility study with local partner Agram Architects for the new Benin Royal Museum in Nigeria, Art News writes.

Adjaye currently consults for the Benin Dialogue Group, a cultural repatriation-focused entity that includes representatives from major European and Nigerian museums. During the colonial era, many of West Africa’s most precious art and cultural objects were stolen by colonizing powers, and as a result, now sit scattered across the world’s museums, including the British Museum and the Metropolitan Museum in New York City, according to Art News.

The Benin Dialogue Group is working to coordinate the tricky task of repatriating some o...

Archinect - News

The new Bët-bi Museum by atelier masōmī will continue a shift toward cultural justice in Senegal

'Undoing of objectification:' Adjaye Associates unveils design for new Edo Museum of West African Art​​

Adjaye Associates selected to design museum in Nigeria for repatriated artifacts

'Undoing of objectification:' Adjaye Associates unveils design for new Edo Museum of West African Art