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Jun 17th, 2004 - 05:50:41 |
Peter Musa
Development Updates - June 2004
A four-week long exhibition on Authentic Traditional Musical Instruments used in the Cameroon Grassfields focusing on the Nso Kingdom in Bui Division, opens at the Mus'Art Gallery in Kumbo on Monday 17th, May 2004. The exhibition opens a day to this year's International Museum Day which will be celebrated under the theme "Museums and the Intangible Heritage." Music is part of humanity's intangible heritage and Mus'Art Gallery is mounting up this exhibition to showcase the local instruments which were used and are still being used in producing rich musical tunes in the Nso Kingdom. This exhibition will serve as a good medium to promote knowledge of Nso Musical instruments and promote tourism during this one month long exhibition which ends on the 16th June. It is curated by Mr. Mangong Peter Musa, director of the museum. The Mus'Art Gallery it should be noted was established in December 1996 and works towards the preservation of the arts and crafts of Cameroon's Western Grassfields.
Jun 17th, 2004 - 05:41:04 |
Peter Musa
Training Workshop on Globalisation and Cultural Diversity - March 28th to April 2nd 2004
Peter Musa, Director of the Musa Heritage Gallery was recently in Durban, South Africa where he participated in a workshop on Globalisation and Cultural Diversity. The Workshop which took place as from the 28th March to the 2nd April 2004 was jointly organised by the Canada based International Network for Cultural Diversity (INCD) and the Network for Arts and Culture South Africa (NACSA).
The workshop aimed at building a cadre of African leaders and activists proficient in issues pertaining to globalisation and cultural diversity, and who would be able to plan, strategise and act in defence of cultural diversity in their respective countries and on the continent.
Its theoretical aims were to; help delegates glean a basic understanding of globalisation: what it is, its drivers and its impact, particularly on the developing world. It was also meant to help delegates understand what is meant by cultural diversity in the context of globalisation, how cultural diversity is affected by globalisation and free trade agreements, and what the possible consequences are for African countries and artists. It also intended
to help delegates gain a fuller understanding of the African context in which strategies to address the negative consequences of globalisation need to be pursued.
The Durban workshop also had strong networking aims with the intention of building a strong human and organisational relationships between activists from different countries. the organisers hoped the workshop would help to develop a model for a similar workshop in Francophone Africa with the aim of linking countries across the continent ultimately. Lastly the workshop was meant to identify key players on the continent with whom to build partnerships.
Practical aims were; to devise clear and measurable strategies to develop national and continental networks in pursuit of cultural diversity and broader cultural agendas on the continent. The workshop ended with the establishment of a mechanism to coordinate such strategies in the aftermath of the workshop.
Peter Musa and Edwin Binfon of Office Pro Group in Kumbo were the two participants from Cameroon. Other participants came from South Africa, Botswana, Zambia, Ghana, Namibia, Mozambique and Tanzania. Facilators came from Canada, Croatia, South Africa and Danemark.
May 29th, 2003 - 06:32:04 |
Peter Musa
Development Updates May 2003
Internet Accessibility for the Museum
One of the greatest communication handicaps for the Musa Heritage Gallery was overomed on the 2nd of April, 2003 with the coming of the Internet to Kumbo where Musa Heritage Gallery is located. The Musa Heritage Gallery is now able to communicate very much at ease with others in Cameroon and elsewhere. Our website which was developed for us by our friend and adviser Dr. Ian Fowler of the University of Oxford in the UK will henceforth be most useful in the promotion of the Musa Heritage Gallery. We are starting to experience a rapid increase in the number of visits to the gallery website through our efforts. At the time we are preparing to post this update the number of visitors to the website have greatly risen from the 184 visits (from when it was launched in October 2000 to 2nd April 2003) to 322 (on 28th May 2003)! Is this not a great sign that the Musa Heritage Gallery is taking full advantage of the availability of Internet in Kumbo? We are well convinced that the Internet will do a lot to help us in realising our objectives and making the Musa Heritage Gallery to be widely known in Cameroon and abroad.
In our report on the first five years of the Musa Heritage Gallery, Internet Accessibillity for the Museum was one of our great priorities. This has been achieved with the coming of the Internet to Kumbo by V-SAT thanks to Office Pro CIG of Kumbo.
Musa Heritage Gallery posts volunteer position to document Museum objects
On the 2nd of April 2003, the Musa Heritage Gallery posted a volunteer position on Idealist.Org. This position is for the post of a a Museum Documentalist to assist the director in documenting the Musa Heritage Gallery collection. The project is supposed to start on the 1st July to 1st October 2003. However the project shall only commence when the Musa Heritage Gallery finds a suitable candidate to fill in the volunteer position. You can find out about the position by visiting the Idealist.Org site at http://www.idealist.org when you log in, search Musa Heritage Gallery under organisations.
Musa Heritage Gallery suffers Theft
The month of April 2003 was a very difficult one for the Musa Heritage Gallery as thieves targeted the premises. On the 8th April, the thieves succeeded in making away with window curtains on the building. As a security measure, additional metal window protectors were made and fitted on the lower floor of the building housing the gallery. The thieves angered by this development breaked into the director's residence by chipping off a part of the window protector on one of the windows in the sitting room of the building which is the floor above the Musa Heritage Gallery. Valuables such as a Video deck, household decorations and video cassettes were stolen. The floor carpet was also taken but abandoned somewhere on the veranda of the building downstairs. Unfortunately for the organisation, three video cassettes on the Musa Heritage Gallery were carried away by the robbers who have continued to struggle to break into the floor housing the art objects and the resources held by the arts and cultural institution.
Imagine the Musa Heritage Gallery in danger of collapse due to theft! The security of the director and of his entire household is also in great danger. Mrs. Pauline Musa, patroness who is above 60 years old and a hypertensive is very worried about the situation. She also lives on the same building with his son Peter who is the director. Musa Heritage Gallery will be glad for any assistance that can be made to employ a permanent security guard and in the installation of security suivelance equipments such as lighting, cameras and an alarm system. In December, a security camera was installed on the main entrance of the director's residence. This covers only one side of the building. There are three other sides that need to be monitored and the Musa Heritage Gallery is unable to acquire the suveilance equipment for the entire building.
May 29th, 2003 - 06:30:53 |
Peter Musa
Development Updates March 2003
Bui Senior Divisional Officer Congratulates Musa Heritage Gallery
On the 6th of February 2002, Mr. Abouna Oloume Venant, the Senior Divisional Officer (SDO) for Bui in a Congratulatory Letter on the occasion of the 5th Anniversary of the Musa Heritage Gallery hailed the organisation for its active role in the promotion of Cameroon's cultural heritage and for assisting the government to develope the tourist industry.
St. Augustine's College Students Visit Musa Heritage Gallery
A few weeks after the start of the 2002/2003 academic year over 200 students of forms one and two of St. Augustine's College (SAC) Nso visited the Musa Heritage Gallery. The two visits undertaken by the students and accompanied by their teachers was most enriching for the young students. Their teachers who were first of all briefed by Peter Musa, Director of the Musa Heritage Gallery acted as museum attendants throughout the guided tour of the museum. The visit to the museum was within the framework of getting the students closer to the Musa Heritage Gallery as a centre for cultural education. It should be noted that the Ministry of National Education is planning reforms in secondary school curriculum which will include the teaching of local languages and culture.
National Cultural Inventory Agents at the Musa Heritage Gallery
In October 2002 the Musa Heritage Gallery was pleased to receive and work with four National Cultural Inventory Agents. It was indeed an honour for Musa Heritage Gallery to be amongst the few museums selected for this national project which is organised by the Ministry of Culture, Cameroon and the French Government. Some objects at the museum were selected for the this first phase of the inventory. The agents appreciated the work being undertaken by the Musas to preserve the objects in the Musa Heritage Gallery collection.
Innovations at the Musa Heritage Gallery Premises
Some innovations were undertaken in the Musa Heritage Gallery premises before 2002 ended. This included the following:
1. The souvenir shop is gradually being modified to serve as the director's office with shelves to hold information materials of the
organisation. These include arts, culture & development information as well as the Music Information Centre which the Musa Heritage Gallery is struggling to develope.
2. Wooden Stands were made for some of the museum objects. This has made it possible for the collection to be contained in two rooms instead of the four rooms which were initially used.
3. Inorder to bring residents of Kumbo closer to the Musa Heritage Gallery, Peter Musa opened a bar known as Ridhal in the other two rooms previously occupied by the collection. The Sub Prefect for Kumbo Central Sub Division innaugurated Ridhal on the 11 December, 2002. Ridhal is also meant to serve visitors/tourists at the Musa Heritage Gallery. Users to the organisation's information materials are now able to sit comfortably and read using the tables and chairs at Ridhal.
May 29th, 2003 - 06:24:09 |
Peter Musa
Three Years of
MUSA HERITAGE GALLERY
and her move into the Third Millennium
We are a private, non-profit museum institution known as Musa Heritage Gallery (Mus'Art Gallery). The museum formally opened her doors to the public on 18 December 1996. Initially set up in fulfillment of the wishes of Daniel Kanjo Musa (1930 - 1995) and son John Yuniwo Musa (1956 - 1996), the museum was created as a living edifice in their memory in order to preserve works of art (wood sculptures) by the two departed artists of Nso' origin, North West Province of Cameroon.
Ever since the doors of the museum were flung open to the public Cameroonians and foreign nationals from USA, Great Britain, the Netherlands, Ukraine, Austria, Belgium, Germany, Spain, Canada, Italy, Nigeria and Eritrea have come to visit. Notably amongst them have been the following scholars.
1. Prof. Verkijika Fanso, Director of Cultural Patrimony, Ministry of Culture, Yaounde, Cameroon, Department of History, University of Yaounde I, Cameroon.
2. Prof. Tih Pius Muffih, Director of Health Services C.B.C. Health Board Kumbo-Nso, Cameroon.
3. Prof. Mitzi Goheen, Anthropology Department, Armherst College, Armherst, MA, USA.
4. Prof. Milton Krieger, Bellingham, WA, USA.
5. Donald West, Instructor, US and African American History, Trident Technical College, Charleston, SC, USA.
As we reflect on our three years of existence and take a major step in broadening our collection to include the Arts and Crafts of the entire Western Grassfields of Cameroon, we feel it a great duty to extend a word of thanks to all the people who through the years have been our visitors.
There was no other way Musa Heritage Gallery could better remember their numerous visits than to include the comments they wrote about us and our works in this important document marking three years of our young museum. It was however not possible to include all the comments due to lack of space. Regrettably some comments were written in foreign languages (German and Ukrainian). With Cameroon's bilingual nature (French and English) a few comments were registered in the French language. Musa Heritage Gallery will be most grateful if you spare your time to read through the comments.
"I'm very interested in your carving. I hope one day your sculptures are seen in Bregenz (Austria)." 19-01-97 Zehz Ulla, Wien Austria
"Nice Exposition." Michael Joerg, Barcelona Spain
"Je souhaite bonne chance et succes a cette gallerie et a tout cette famille." 22-05-97 Bruno Mbock, Douala, Cameroon
"Tres emus." 28-03-97 Djonkoum Martin, Douala, Cameroon
"Visited this wonderful treasure. Completely overwhelmed with the initiative taken by Peter and his mum. It is really apppreciated especially that Pa Musa was my personal friend. The Lord bless your efforts." 9-06-97 Prof. & Mrs. Tih, Kumbo-Nso, Cameroon
"I visited this art treasure dedicated to Mr. Musa and was really impressed. Every Cameroonian should endeavour to visit it." 16-06-97 Rev. Dr. Aki, Kumbo-Nso, Cameroon
"Although I know Pa Musa was an excellent carver. I never fully appreciated how marvelous his work and that of his sons Peter and John, really were. Peter should be ongratulated for his effort which given especially the difficulties of putting a place like this together at this time is fully amazing. I know his father and brother would be proud of him - and so are all of us who love and study Nso' culture." 20-06-97 Yaa Nso' Dr. Mitzii Goheen, Armherst College, Armherst, USA
"The man who leaves a heritage gives himself to posterity. May God almighty bring to full fruition the wonderful thing he has planned for Musa Heritage Gallery." 2-07-97 Eugene Tawe, Yaounde, Cameroon
"How great it is to leave a legacy. The work is great and the originality outstanding." 2-07-97 Edison Chimi Yuniwo, Yaounde, Cameroon
"Very nice to stumble upon this wonderful place in Kumbo. Work that is very unique and beautiful." 23-07-97 Sarah Joggert & Friend, Kansa City, MS, USA
"A beautiful and interesting gallery. A wonderful addition to the Kumbo area. Please keep up the good work." 7-10-97 Lynne Baker, Omaha, NE, USA
"An impressive display of the family's talent and dedication to the preservation of traditional expression." 14-10-97 Greg Winter & Monica Peek, Berkeley, CA, USA
"A fantastic insight into the art/culture/history of this impressive region of Africa. It is my first time on this magnificient continent and my visit to this gallery will certainly leave lasting memories. The private memories and thoughtful commentary served to bring the figures alive." 19-10-97 Timothy A Connolly, Washington, DC, USA
"The Museum is a good transformation of Pa Musa's intentions. A beautiful place where one an remin the ay long tirelessly. Encouraged to go ahead." Pezumbia Philip, Bamenda, Cameroon
"Your family has certainly created some beautiful works of art. It is great to have such a place to preserve the stories and cultures of the people of Cameroon." Melodie Smith, Canada
"Wow. The art of the Museum is amazing. Thank you so much for sharing your talent, creativity and family spirit with me." 25-11-97 Jo Brown, Clarkson, GA USA
"It was a great insight into the history and art of the North West. And very interesting impressions for me. More people should visit this museum." 15-03-98 Klaus Emrich, Kumbo-Nso, Cameroon
"We really enjoyed your museum! Its quite fascinating. Your family has a true talent for wood - carving." 18-04-98 Medical students from USA
Tanya Hesen, Jill Brein, Denis Conley, Andrew Kamell, McAdams
"Well thought - out and organised museum. Thanks for inviting me and glad I got a chance to visit. Well worth the time to see." 29-05-98 Donald West, N. Charleston, SC, USA
"A family of traditional carvers proud of their work. Congratulations and keep it up!" 26-06-98 Liam Jackson Humphreys, Miami Beach, FL, USA
"Thanks for the beautiful explanation." 25-07-98 Corry & Moor, Maastricht, Netherlands
"Very special and very interesting. Bless God for the talent he put in your family." 2-08-98 Sandra, Switzerland
"A Nice place! Thank you for the nice welcome." Caroline Dubois, Bertoua, Cameroon
"All the best to you and your collaborators. Excellent work." 4-08-98 Shang Lawrence, Tadu Dairy, Kumbo-Nso, Cameroon
"I really liked the masks." 10-08-98 This visitor only recorded her signature
"A very interesting place which should be known by everyone - even primary school children!" 11-08-98 This visitor only recorded her signature/name under (German citizen)
"We find everything very beautiful and nterestin. We hope many people can see this place to know the true Africa." 27-08-98 Group of ten Italian youths from Youth Center, Clusove, Italy
"Thanks for showing the museum." Kris & Linda Seeds, American Embassy, Yaounde, Cameroon
"A fascinating visit! Tremendous Culture in the middle of rural Cameroon. Well done the Musa family." 3-09-98 Dr. Peter McCormick, England
"This museum was a good surprise. When I arrived in Kumbo, I didn't think that I may find a Museum. And this one is very nice with a lot of beautiful sculptures. Best wishes to continuing." 9-11-98 David, Switzerland
"Thanks for showing us the beautiful family treasures! Good luck with this very special museum." 21-11-98 Jarrew and Francis, Netherlands
"Simply wonderful. An initiative unprecedented in these parts - that needs support from all and sundry; true source of inspirations. Some of the artists are gone, but they live on these floor, in their works. May God bless it." 22-12-98 John Bime, Arusha, Tanzania
"Amazing - Such a privilege to witness such talent!" 31-12-98 Jayne Beadman, VSO, Kano, Nigeria
"A splendid art gallery." 5-01-99 Dr. John and Suzanne Harvey, Alberta, Canada
"Visite sympathique et tres cordialement commentie - Merci! 8-12-98 Yeeuu Herve, Papt Magba, Noun, Cameroon (French citizen)
"An excellent stop - Worth a detour." 28-11-98 J. Bouton Rowdybush, American Embassy, Yaounde, Cameroon
"An interesting and impressive collection. Deserves to be supported. I will definitely pass the word." 20-01-99 Dudley Parkinson, River Falls, WI, USA
"The Museum gives a good picture of African tradition." Visited on 27-01-99 and only signed after comment (Belgian)
"Very well done! A good way to preserve and represent a family history and cultural identity." 7-04-99 Ivo Quaranta, Italy
"The gallery is remarkable. I hope the next Musa generation (and perhaps the young women) will continue the work. 3-05-99 Prof. Milton Krieger, Bellington, WA, USA
"I feel fortunate to have had the opportunity to see these beautiful sculptures. It is indeed a treasure. I hope the Musa tradition will continue. Thank you for such an excellent display." 8-05-99 Ning S. Cheuy, Boston, MA, USA
"Thank you so much to Pauline Musa. This is the nicest way to remember your husband and share his (and your children's) gift with others. The carvings are beautiful. I felt so lucky to have been able to see them. Berri wo plenty." 11-05-99 Sue Lim, Pacific Palisades, CA, USA
"Thank you for keeping your husband's and children's work in one place so that others could enjoy it. I especially liked meeting Pauline Musa who is very pleasant. 11-05-99 Mike Vaughan, Colorado, USA
"I was impressed and a bit awed by what I saw here. Keep up the family tradition and please do improve on the environment for preservations sake. The rooms are damp. A big cheer." 31-05-99 This only visitor recorded her signature
"Wood preservation techniques can also do with improvement. Apart from that, leaving all questions/comments for when I next return. And that's a promise. Looking forward to seeing the next series of work." 31-05-99 Louise Mbango, Yaounde, Cameroon
"We enjoyed touring your family museum very much. You are very skilled in your work. Thank you for showing it to us." 14-06-99 George and Jane Schimdt, San Francisco, CA, USA
The comments which you have taken the pains to carefully read through give you a picture of what Musa Heritage Gallery has lived up for during these first years of her existence. These comments have been a real inspiration to our infant museum. It has not been all roses for Musa Heritage Gallery though, as the museum during its first years years of existence has faced numerous difficulties. From the above comment you must have realised that most of the population are yet to discover what a museum is all about and what Musa Heritage Gallery doing. This accounts for why very few Cameroonians have visited our museum since its inception. For the past three years we have used both the electronic and print media to reach the local population as well as through personal contacts. An official of the North West Provincial Delegation for Tourism spoke on the Museum over CRTV Radio Bamenda programme "Tourism Quarter Hour" in 1997 and in July 1998 the Director was "Guest of the Week " (a programme of the Oku Rural Radio) in which he also spoke about the museum and the need for the local population to become its visitors. Articles have also appeared in "The Herald" and "The Nso Voice" newspapers on the gallery. Occasionally, the museum has that offered free access to some Cameroonians (individuals and groups) in a bid to get them interested in the work of the museum. Some college Principals were contacted who promised to bring in students for excursions but sadly never did so. The museum will none-the-less never relent her efforts in continuing to sensitise the local population on the importance of museums and why it is important for them to cultivate a habit f visiting museums. Due to the low numbers in terms of persons who have actually paid an entrance fee in order to visit the museum, Musa Heritage Gallery is financially poor. The museum is however open to the public each day from 9 a.m to 6 p.m. The building housing the museum needs a lot of renovation to ensure that the objects are welll conserved. There is also a great necessity for the Director to obtain training in Museum Management/Conservation. In the domain of training the museum is indebted to the Ministry of Culture, Cameroon and to the French Cooperation Agency Cameroon for sponsoring the "First National Training Seminar on the Management of Museums," Yaounde June 29 - 30 to July 1 1999. The Director was privileged to be among the sixty participants drawn from both Public and Private Museums across the country. The knowledge he acquired is being put to work.
New Millennium, New Orientation
At the dawn of the third millennium Musa Heritage Gallery is working towards becoming a full ethngraphic museum. Aware of her role as an institution at the service of society and of its development, which acquires, conserves, researches, communicates and exhibits for purposes of study, education and enjoyment, material evidence of people and their environment as prescribed by the International Council of Museums (ICOM), Musa Heritage Gallery will from henceforth while ensuring that sculptural pieces carved by the Musa's are adequately protected, focus her collection on the Arts and Crafts of the Western Grassfields region of Cameroon. This region which is comprised of the North West and West Provinces is widely recognised internationally for having produced some of the great works of Cameroonian art. Henceforth, sculptural pieces, pottery, basketry, weaved items, bamboo and traditional metal work originating from these two provinces of Cameroon will constitute objects to be acquired by the museum for public viewing.
Two criteria will be used in selecting objects for its collection, namely: -
1. Musa Heritage Gallery will collect objects with a degree of either historical or cultural significance, aesthetical value in artistic expression or fine craftsmanship. Contemporary art and craft work will also be collected on the basis of aesthetical value in artistic expression or fine craftsmanship.
2. Musa Heritage Gallery will not collect ancestral or ritual objects used by the Kings (Fons) or by their subjects (Sub-Chiefs & Title Holders) and those used by the men's regulatory society (commonly known as Kwifon) in the different villages, tribes and clans of the North West Province.
Finally Musa Heritage Gallery is open for collaboration with other museums and related research organisations (based in Cameroon or abroad) interested in the Arts and Crafts of the Cameroon Grassfields.
Done at Kumbo - Nso, this 1st Day of September 1999
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