Friday, March 14, 2014
Council (Omni Shoreham)
This article investigates how ethnographic museums steeped in colonial practices are interpreted, contested, and sometimes reformed by contemporary publics. This research follows the Royal Museum for Central Africa (RMCA) in Tervuren, Belgium, at a pivotal moment of transition from old colonial museum to fully renovated space inspired by a newfound "contemporary" point of view. As the official museum for documenting and displaying Belgian colonialism in Central Africa from 1885-1960, the RMCA has received ardent criticism and praise from contemporary publics in Belgium and beyond. Drawing on thick description of museum displays, participant-observation of guided tours, interviews with museum staff, and analyses of museum documents and newspaper articles, I examine the existing tensions and contradictions among museum staff with respect to the renovation. Although the impending renovation promises to restructure the museum’s identity in relation to Central Africa, the overemphasis on “contemporary Africa” threatens to further detract from acknowledging Belgium’s colonial past. I argue that an inadequate representation of past horrors forecloses the possibility of bringing a reformed "contemporary" museum to fruition. This paper assesses the consequences of obscuring colonial history and the implications for future displays of cultural heritage at the RMCA.
