Joining forces to preserve cultural heritage

Visitors watch as a 20m² block of stone from Wyoming full of dinosaur bones is broken open. The demonstration is part of the extraordinary Edmond Project at Senckenberg Nature Museum in Frankfurt, and for Christopher Ssebuyungo, conservator and archaeologist at the Uganda National Museum, it is an unforgettable experience. He is taking part in the TheMuseumsLab programme which is funded by the Federal Commissioner for Culture and the Media (BKM) and the Federal Foreign Office. Through the programme he undertook a two-week residency at the prestigious German institution, where he had a fascinating chance to gain an insight into the museum’s departments and processes. “I visited the collections store where I found out about storage infrastructure and various materials categories,” he explains. “I was also very interested by a palaeontology exhibition which explored conservation and the origins of fossils.”In addition to this, Ssebuyungo developed valuable relationships with his German counterparts and was able to contribute his indigenous knowledge on environmental protection for an exhibition on nature and medicine. 

Collaboration between institutions in Africa and Europe

TheMuseumsLab takes place annually as a collaboration between several African and European institutions to bring together 50 experts from the two continents. One of its core goals is to develop sustainable networks between museums and their staff. In Germany, the project involves the Museum für Naturkunde – Leibniz Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity Science, the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), while the African partners change each year. The 2025 partner is the Yimtubezina Museum and Cultural Center in Ethiopia. The project also includes representatives of TheMuseumsLab network, the International Academic Committee and various other partner museums in Africa and Europe which host residencies.

Colonial history and restitution

A changing group of museums and institutions contribute to the content of the three modules of the programme each year. The modules are divided up between online events, two in-person phases (one in Berlin and one in an African partner country on a rotating basis) and a residency. Issues around reappraising colonial history, dealing with collections from colonial contexts, and the restitution debate are key thematic priorities for the programme. It also provides a forum for discussing museum management and public relations. 

Diversity and memory: living forms of art

Through the online module led by African and European experts, Christopher Ssebuyungo worked on the future of cultural memory. “I am focusing on critically scrutinising colonial structures, ways of thinking and practices in museums,” he says. “That’s why it was so exciting for me to join with other MuseumsLab participants to explore why diversity is a major factor in the museums and cultural sector.”The participants joined forces to investigate the performance of memory. “This approach takes artistic forms of expression such as theatre, music and dance as a means of bringing historical events and collective memories to life,” Ssebuyungo explains. 

Moving encounters

The in-person modules at the Museum für Naturkunde in Berlin and cultural institutions in Cape Town also gave the participants a space for debates. In South Africa the group considered such questions as how museums there are dealing with transformations and looking at colonial history in a new light. “We also learned about the challenges facing community museums which are set up and administered by local communities,” Ssebuyungo says.A visit to Robben Island Museum off the coast of Cape Town made a particularly deep impression on him. During Apartheid, the island served as a high-security gaol for political prisoners, including Nelson Mandela. “We were able to talk to former inmates there. Those encounters moved me very deeply,” Ssebuyungo says.

Long-term partnerships

The meeting in Cape Town also generated ideas for long-term collaborative projects. Alumni of the 2022 TheMuseumsLab programme set up an alumni network which has gone on to realise joint projects and exhibitions and is also involved in designing the programme itself. Former participants are also involved in the “Disrupting and Reorienting Restitution” collective, which calls for a realignment of the discussion of restitution and repatriation. “It helps everyone if we can share our knowledge and resources,” says Christopher Ssebuyungo.