Rediscovering Histories:

Voices from the Africa Hub

BY DANNY ROBERTS | PHOTOGRAPHY BY JODY HARTLEY AND DAVID OATES

In the popular imagination, museums are often seen as centres of the highest knowledge and expertise.

We’re supposed to know everything there is to know about the collections we care for, ready to communicate the wisdom of the world through a series of carefully-written object labels.

Well, sometimes the reality is slightly different. And, on this occasion, we need your help, as visitors and communities, to uncover the stories that museum records cannot tell or have suppressed.

Africa Hub is a new kind of gallery that builds on our work in co-curation, particularly the award-winning South Asia Gallery (a partnership gallery with the British Museum), and in working with communities locally and globally to make decisions about how collections can better be used to inspire future generations. That could mean returning them to communities of origin but could also mean collaborating with diaspora communities to display them in new ways that will enrich the experience of people in Manchester.

Mostly, Africa Hub means being honest about what we don’t know. Manchester Museum holds over 40,000 objects from across Africa, cultural heritage items, plants, animals and minerals, many collected during the period of Empire, often through violence. Museum records can tell us when these objects arrived and sometimes who donated them, but much of their story remains untold. The makers, original names, uses and the meanings these items held in their communities are often unrecorded and the connections between people and objects lost.

Africa Hub begins with those silences. We’re laying our lack of knowledge bare and extending an invitation to you, to come and view these collections, either in person or online, and share your own knowledge, experience and perspectives to create richer narratives.

At the heart of Africa Hub there is a community collaboration that speaks to the essence of this work. For decades many of these collections were stored away, but now they are being redisplayed and reinterpreted through partnerships like the one with Igbo Community Greater Manchester (ICM). ICM have worked with Manchester Museum on a collaborative research project focused on objects that have significance for their community and have chosen a selection of these objects to represent Igbo cultural heritage as part of a co-curated display.

Mr Anene Chiegboka, Chairman of Igbo Community Greater Manchester (ICM), says, “The organisation has an unwavering commitment to its partnership with Manchester Museum. This collaboration reflects a shared vision rooted in ICM’s dedication to preserving, promoting, and sharing the rich cultural heritage of the Igbo people through meaningful cooperation and inclusive engagement."

Emeka Onyegbuna, a member of ICM, asserts Africa Hub is about learning, connection and representation. He says museums have “a very important role in preserving our social heritage,” and that through community engagement, they help to promote “respect for the values of the communities involved. Some of these artefacts are sacred to us and the Museum acknowledges that.”

“(Museums have) a very important role in preserving our social heritage.”

Emeka Onyegbuna, Igbo Community Manchester member.

This collaboration between museum and community has also been a deeply personal experience for many. Honourable Mrs Sylvia Mgbeahurike, Vice-Chairlady of ICM Women wing, explains that her group “are united from Nigeria. We are the Igbos. We like our heritage and we live a commune life. Anywhere we are, we try to identify ourselves as a community, as a group, because we have a culture of togetherness, sharing, love and ability to be our brother’s keeper, we live a communal life, not an individualistic life.”

A DISPLAY OF AFRICAN HERITAGE FROM MANCHESTER MUSEUM’S AFRICA DAY CELEBRATIONS.

That sense of togetherness guided her involvement in Africa Hub. “In life, history always defines the future,” she says. “You need to know where you’re coming from before you know where you’re going. When I first came, I wasn’t expecting what I saw - some of these things happened years back. Some of the objects I couldn’t even identify because I didn’t know much of them, but I know the history from my dad, my mum, my grandfather. Some of them I have seen before, some of the replicas.”

The process has also meant facing difficult truths about the past. “Some of them were given, some of them were stolen, some were taken forcefully, out of conquest,” she explains. “But it’s good for us to start bringing them together again. It shows inclusiveness. It shows there is strength in diversity. It shows we are one people. Irrespective of our colour, where we are from. Something must hold us together.”

“Some of them were given, some of them were stolen, some were taken forcefully, out of conquest.”

Honourable Mrs Sylvia Mgbeahurike, Vice-President of Women ICM Amaka Group.

For both community members, seeing Igbo heritage represented in Manchester carries deep meaning. “It makes us feel at home,” says Honourable Mrs Mgbeahurike. “It makes us feel represented. That is what diversity and inclusion are all about.”

Onyegbuna adds, “We can’t rewrite the past, but we can make sure the next generation understands it - that they can look at these collections and say, ‘This is part of me.’”

MUSICAL PERFORMANCE AND AN OBJECT HANDLING SESSION FROM MANCHESTER MUSEUM’S AFRICA DAY CELEBRATIONS.

For Honourable Mrs Mgbeahurike, projects like the Africa Hub sow the seeds of future understanding. “This is just a root now, a seed that is going to germinate,” she says. “When this goes on a website, anybody can access it. It’s a privilege to have such a constant.”

At its heart, the Africa Hub is about listening, remembering and connection between people, places, and generations. “For me to be here is a privilege,” says Honourable Mrs Mgbeahurike. “I’m overwhelmed, because it’s quite a significant moment in my life. This is the first thing I’ve seen in the UK, for somebody to have such affection and respect for other people’s culture. The respect you have for humanity, for other people’s cultural beliefs and the affection and zeal for inclusiveness, I’m really, really overwhelmed.”

AN ILLUSTRATION FROM THE AFRICA HUB GALLERY.

Find out more about the Africa Hub

The Africa Hub is a new gallery and digital project at Manchester Museum, dedicated to reconnecting African collections with the people and communities from which they came. The Museum holds more than 40,000 objects from across the continent, many acquired during the Empire period through collecting, trade and colonial expansion.

Through collaboration with African and diaspora communities, the project is uncovering the stories, makers and meanings behind these collections and ensuring they are told with care, transparency and respect. Visitors are invited to join this process, if you recognise materials on display or wish to share knowledge, please speak to a member of staff or leave written feedback in the gallery. Every conversation helps to bring these histories to life and to keep them connected with the people for whom they matter most.