Reimagining meanings

Co-curatorship and decolonising methods

Guest article by Emma Banister, Director Methods@Manchester

African diaspora communities were given an opportunity to contribute to vital work aimed at developing new understandings of the Museum’s African collections at a unique event organised by methods@manchester and Manchester Museum.

Subverting the familiar request of ‘please do not touch the exhibits’, Manchester Museum’s Curator of Living Cultures, Njabulo Chipangura, encouraged attendees to handle objects and share their own experiences of them.

These African objects, generally seized within a colonial context and often with violence, are usually held in stores concealed from public view. Herein lies the challenge – how to engage with and exhibit African history, yet in ways that are honest, respectful and true to the knowledge and meanings of people’s lived experiences.

The event was designed to support the Museum’s changing approach to narrating the past, and to reinforce how important local communities are to developing understandings and approaches to decolonisation.

It was particularly fitting this workshop was held in Manchester, next door to the site of the 1945 Pan African Congress, widely celebrated as a turning point in the journey of African nations to freedom from colonial powers. This poignant connection was pointed out by one attendee while discussing the considerable challenge ahead for a museum committed to decolonising their exhibitions.

With input from people from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Malawi, Zimbabwe and Nigeria, the objects literally came to life as people shared feelings, ritual practices and stories.

For many objects, their meanings emerge through experiences or knowledge about their use, hence the terminology of ‘living cultures’. Sometimes recounting these stories and uses drew excitement and laughter but other reflections warranted a serious tone and quiet contemplation.

An object described simply as ‘a wooden cup’ by its label was so much more. We learnt of the vessel’s potential use for divination purposes, in meaningful rituals for special blessings and protective reasons. What looked at first glance like a decorative pattern etched onto its surface likely symbolised a particular community, and in this case the gift of such an object could symbolise friendship or support between communities.

The ‘wooden cup’ represents so many things but reduced to this simple label, “the knowledge is dead” as one participant so eloquently remarked.

Unsettling memories and historical facts were recounted. One example being the instruction to stop using particular objects – threats by Christian missionaries that heaven wouldn’t be an option if populations continued with African practices and customs. “Now we are reclaiming them,” said one woman.

And that’s what this workshop was all about. Using an innovative and interdisciplinary approach to help the Museum discover the values and meanings these objects have for African diaspora. This essentially is at the heart of the Museum’s decolonisation methodology, hence the importance of this collaboration to methods@manchester. Centring those histories and narratives that are often omitted or ignored allows the return of the “living” to these objects encouraging those who know to reclaim and narrate their stories.

What's next?

We hope to continue with this collaboration between methods@manchester, The University of Manchester, Manchester Museum and the African diaspora community groups who very generously shared their stories during the workshop.

Filmmaker, Dr Sophie Everest is currently leading with the development of a co-produced film featuring the workshop, the stories and the Museum’s attempts to decolonise its exhibits. We hope to release a digital mini-exhibition and Dr Njabulo Chipangura will appear on an episode of Methods Talk, the methods@manchester podcast.

To keep up-to-date with methods@manchester activities and events please sign up to our newsletter or connect with us via our Linktree.

Photos courtesy of Sophie Everest.