Thirteenth International Conference on The Inclusive Museum

Abstract

In this paper I look at how Mutare Museum in Eastern Zimbabwe reorganised traditional musical objects comprising of drums and shakers wherein new meanings associated with their emotive ritual use were deciphered by allowing source communities to participate in exhibition development. At the top end of the argument – I begin by showing how these objects were appropriated from source communities during the colonial period when the museum was opened oblivious of their everyday emotive ritual uses and socio-cultural biographies. Consequently, since 1964 when this museum opened its doors to the public, the musical instruments have been presented in dioramas as objects of ethnographic inquiries devoid of any sentimental meaning nor connection to living communities. However, in 2014 – the museum received a generous grant from the Beit Trust (UK) to use towards the reorganisation of ethnographic objects in the Beit gallery. Importantly, in coming up with a new exhibition agenda entitled ‘Traditional musical aspects of the Eastern Shona’ – we adopted new museology concept/methodology in collaborating with communities which in turn informed narratives on how emotional aspects of musical objects were presented in a co-produced exhibition. In presenting this collaboration – I argue that by engaging with the community Mutare Museum supported living indigenous cultural practices and subsequently transcended beyond being a storage house for mute objects. Thus by embracing this multi-vocal and innovative co- curatorship approach through – Mutare Museum managed to decolonise and unsettle its tainted museological practices that were inherited from the colonial period.