The Management of the Museum of West African Art (MOWAA) pavilion, Edo, on Sunday said that the museum has been designed to connect global audience of Nigerians and other African communities through art, dialogue and education.
The Director, MOWAA pavilion, Ore Disu, made this known during a press conference to mark the end of a three-day MOWAA open-day celebration which began on June 1 in Benin.
The Open-Day event was held at the site of the Pavilion with emphasis placed on archaeology and providing a glimpse of what it looks like in practice.
The three-day event provided informative tours of the Pavilion center and educated visitors on the benefits it would offer the city in terms of investment, jobs and educational opportunities.
Speaking further, Disu noted that MOWAA would be a world-class collections facility that would house a center of excellence for archeological science, conservation and museum practice in West Africa.
She added that development of the pavilion was already underway, with completion scheduled for early 2024.
“When completed, the Pavilion will host state-of-the-art storage facilities, and the best equipped labs for conservation, digital production, archaeology and applied material science in West Africa.
“The educational facility will also provide year-round professional training, internships and outreach activities to sustainably grow relevant skills for heritage and creative economies.
“This Open Day is a platform to foster a deeper understanding of the importance of archaeology in preserving our cultural legacy and share some of our exciting new discoveries,” Disu said.
Disu explained that MOWAA pavilion would be a space for learning, connection and reconnection between the sophistication of “our shared past and be home for scholars, artisans and museum practitioners”.
According to her, MOWAA partnerships and programs will breathe new energy into local scholarships and connect Africa’s rich heritage to its thriving contemporary arts scene.
On his part, Phillip Ihenacho, the Director, MOWAA Trust, said “we have decided to update our brand identity to emphasize our focus.
“So going forward we will use the Museum of West African Art, Edo (MOWAA), instead of the former Edo Museum for West Africa Arts (EMOWAA).
“This signifies a new chapter for our organization. We have already been approached by organizations in West Africa about potential collaborations.
“In future, we hope to establish other centres of creativity and learning across Nigeria and beyond to grow our global presence,” Ihenacho said.
