Perceptions towards the collection and exhibition of contemporary urban material culture: a case study of The national museums of Kenya, Nairobi Museum

Abstract

Urban centres in Africa are a melting pot where diverse cultures from different parts interact together, thus, coming up with new urban subcultures. Museums, as custodians of culture, have a duty to undertake in the conservation and preservation of culture. This study aimed at finding out the reasons for the non-collection of contemporary urban material culture and also to investigate the perceptions of people regarding their collection and exhibition. The subjects of this study were the visitors to Nairobi Museum as it was not possible to interview in other areas outside the Museum. Among the instruments used to gather data during this study were the review of secondary data, a focus group discussion and the use of questionnaires, among others. These methods were useful in obtaining information on ethnographic collection activities in the National Museums of Kenya and to discover the perceptions, values, interests and preferences of the visitors in relation to the collection and exhibition of contemporary urban material culture. The non-collection and exhibition of contemporary urban material culture can be attributed to the failure by the National Museums of Kenya to implement its Research and Collection Policy, the lack of a Collection Policy in the Department of Ethnography, lack of an institutional Exhibition Policy and the history of collection as well as staff attitudes in the Department of Ethnography. Implicit in this is that, some phases of Kenya's urban cultural history have been lost. The study also found out that visitors to the Nairobi Museum have a strong interest in the collection and exhibition of contemporary urban material culture. It is, thus, recommended that a Department of Cultural History be set up at the National Museums of Kenya to replace the current Department of Ethnography, as the mandate of the latter has been narrow and only limited to traditional ethnography. Finally, the Collection Policy of the National Museums of Kenya needs to be put into operation and all staff working for National Museums of Kenya need to be made aware of what the policy entails