NKYINKYIM INSTALLATION AS ‘Alternate HISTORY’: NEW FRONTIERS OF MUSEOLOGY IN GHANA AND BEYOND

8th Garage International Conference, Utopias of (Non) Knowledge: The Museum as a Research Hub

Moscow, Russia

September 24-25, 2021

Sela Kodjo Adjei, PhD
Department of Multimedia Production
National Film and Television Institute,
Cantonments

Abstract 

This paper’s main focus is on Kwame Akoto-Bamfo’s Nkyinkyim Installation, an evolving Museum that aims to reconstruct African history and preserve its cultural heritage for posterity.  Currently focusing on generating social interactions on slavery and community revitalization, the art installation comprises over 3,500 sculptures spread across 3 continents (Africa, Europe and America). Nkyinkyim installation aims to use 11,111 sculptures to fill in the missing gaps in African history.  Through his Ancestor Project initiative, Akoto-Bamfo developed an organizational team structure which enabled him to organize a solid team of contributing artists, engineers, researchers, curators, designers and volunteers to help realize his creative vision.  With mass education being a core objective of Nkyinkyim Installation,  researchers  mainly employ historiographical methods and mixed-method approaches to art based research for data collection. Primary data collection is done through workshops, structured interviews, informal community engagements, focused group discussions and participatory activities by the volunteers, contributing artists and community groups. Secondary data is collected from university libraries, national archives, and online journals. The research findings generated from the analyzed data forms the cultural and historical basis to assist the artists, curators, researchers, architects, engineers and designers in  reconstructing African historical narratives. Relying on anthropological procedures, archaeological tools, and the philosopher’s toolkit for critical thinking, data collected in the field undergoes triangulation, analysis and critical review. The ‘dissemination’ of research findings translates into sculptures, obelisks, architectural structures, art festivals, knowledge sharing workshops, and community development. This process of communal institution building and ‘(non)Knowledge’ production cycle effectively transforms art into historical narratives and vice versa—subverting hegemonic knowledge regimes. This paper argues that Nkyinkyim Installation serves as a site for open conversations, ‘(non)knowledge’ production, its presentation, dissemination and a historical archiving of social anthropology through artistic research and community-driven development of Nkyinkyim installation into a world class Museum. 

Keywords: Museology, Sculpture, History, Exhibition, Curating, Education, Research