The new Museum of West African Art (MOWAA), located in Benin City, is preparing to officially open its first building this November, consolidating itself as one of the continent's most ambitious cultural undertakings. The project, which has been five years in the making, seeks to redefine the role of African art on the global stage from a perspective deeply rooted in its local context.
Conceived as a centre for research, conservation and creation, the MOWAA Institute will be the heart of the campus and the starting point for a network of programmes connecting art, education and urban regeneration. Its director, Ore Disu, defends a vision that goes beyond the exhibition of works: “it is about showing that Africa can offer new ways of thinking and acting from its own reality”.
The opening will mark the return to Nigeria of works and artists who have made their mark internationally, with an exhibition that will serve as a bridge between historical memory and contemporary production. Far from reproducing European museum models, MOWAA aims to articulate a language of its own, in which local communities are protagonists rather than mere spectators.
The museum will not only bring together established artists, but will also foster young creators through residencies, laboratories and interdisciplinary collaborations. Its infrastructure combines advanced technology with traditional materials, reflecting the duality between innovation and cultural heritage that defines the new generation of African institutions.
With this opening, Benin City is emerging as a new hub for contemporary African art, attracting the attention of collectors, curators and academics from all over the world. MOWAA, more than a museum, presents itself as a movement that vindicates the capacity of art to transform territories and recover narratives from African roots.
Source: wearemowaa.org; artforum.com