East Africa Collection

The artefacts in the museum’s East Africa collection come from countries in Eastern Africa including Kenya, Uganda and South Sudan, and are attributed to several community groups including Kikuyu, Maasai and Turkana.

The interpretation for these objects had changed very little since the 1920s, when they were first put on display. Notably absent were the stories and voices of the African communities from which the objects were acquired.

We partnered with freelance curator and writer Lucy Edematie, who is of Nigerian heritage, and formed a Community Advisory Group of six members of African and African-Caribbean heritage – Lorna Cole-Partridge, Jane Henya, Abi Lawal, Alice Mulinya, Alexandra Wright and Donna Carr – to work with us on the museum’s wider ‘Reimagining’ project.

Together with our museum team, research partners from museums in the UK and Africa and members of originating communities, we explored stories surrounding the objects and created new interpretation that acknowledges and gives voice to people in the communities of origin.

Exploring themes such as adornment and ceremony, the display shows cultural heritage materials from South Sudan, Uganda and Kenya, including jewellery, clothing and musical instruments and provides an insight into the lives and traditions of people and communities from which items came.

Funded by Arts Council England, Art Fund, Museum Development South East and the Powell-Cotton Trust.

Decolonisation and Practice – Project Goals

• Reinterpret and redisplay the East Africa collection.
• Interrogate and reframe Percy Powell Cotton’s narrative of the ‘Didinga skirmish’, an incident which led to the deaths of local people in an area of South Sudan.
• Consult, acknowledge and give voice to those who have previously been silenced.
• Build lasting relationships with communities of descent and local partners, ensuring that they are involved in shaping how Black histories and people are represented within the museum.
• Give our audiences a greater insight into the communities of origin of our artefacts and involve them in discussions about how narratives are presented in the museum space.
• Provide a case study that will evaluate the process for best practice and be available to other institutions.

The newly reinterpreted East Africa collection is now on display in Gallery 2. Explore the stories, voices and histories behind the objects on your next visit.