The Museum of West African Art (MOWAA) has signed Memorandums of Understanding with the Nigeria’s National Gallery of Arts, and the Center for Black and African Arts and Civilization in order to preserve Nigerian arts and Africa’s cultural heritage.

The tripartite agreement is significant as it involves the agencies responsible for the collection and preservation of Nigerian arts, as well as the research, documentation and promotion of African cultural heritage – with MOWAA, an on the rise institution dedicated to highlighting (west) Africa’s perspectives and contribution to discussions in the global arts scene.

The agreements hinge on five key areas of collaboration: archival storage and preventive conservation, research and development, training and capacity building, events and seminars, documentation and knowledge sharing.

MOWAA will provide both agencies access to its conservation facilities to support preservation of selected works from their collections; with conservation teams working to treat and preserve artworks and develop digitized archives of research documents of significant cultural and historical value.

Joint research initiatives from the three institutions will address development of archives and sustainable conservation methods tailored to the unique challenges of preserving African art and publications. They will collaborate on events, seminars and workshops aimed at fostering public engagement with Nigerian art, culture and preservation efforts globally.

In addition to a commitment to sharing their resources for the dissemination of valuable knowledge in the sector, the partnership will prioritize training programmes in restoration, conservation and digital archiving, with MOWAA providing the professional and technical capacity/experts in these critical areas.
Excited by the partnership set to kickoff mid-2025, with the museum’s collaboration with NGA and Goethe Institut Nigeria to restore 20th century paintings from the national gallery’s archive, MOWAA’s Head of Collections and Senior Conservator, Elizabeth Adeyemo said, “Artworks from Nigeria are some of the most sought after in the world, but we are often left out of international exhibition opportunities due to limited capacity for art storage and management. We are excited to work more closely with national collections, linking our modern masterpieces to the global arts scene.

“Through this collaboration, we will not only safeguard the legacies of our past but also inspire future generations. It reaffirms our dedication to the promotion of African identity and artistic excellence on a global stage,” said CBAAC Director General, Aisha Augie Kuta.

Meantime, for the DG of the National Gallery, Ahmed Sodangi, the partnership opens up a new vista for the gallery whilst enhancing the professionalism of its staff. “More exciting is the shared commitment and opportunity it holds for the partnering institutions,” trilled Sodangi.