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Nigeria

CONNECTING THE DOTS


Museums are spaces for presentation of the life and history of societies. They are spaces for discussion, contestation, construction and reconstruction of a society’s past, present and future. "Connecting the Dots" is an ongoing museum project by Goethe-Institut Nigeria and supported by Ford Foundation which facilitates community engagement with public museums in Nigeria through the establishment of a museum fellowship program, a museum conversations series and a youth arts education program. 

The project facilitates engagement, education and enjoyment of historical and contemporary art at various museum spaces across Nigeria. It focuses on a critical engagement with Nigerian museum content and the creation of research results that engage contemporary topics and takes a critical review of current collections, curation, language, and the links with contemporary issues. The project also seeks to create opportunities for young artists and researchers to present their works and to increase the knowledge and interest of young people in their heritage, museum and their collections.

The hall way of ile ife museum © Goethe-Institut

Participating Museums

Connecting The Dots Programmes

  • Museum Fellowship Program


    The museum fellowship program supports six young scholars/research-based artists from within Nigeria to develop a project at selected museums and produce knowledge that address critical aspects of the museum’s content and context. In addition to a broad focus on the curatorial process and historical relevance of displays, the program seeks to address contemporary challenges facing Nigeria and contribute to knowledge that could advance the role of museums in addressing key national development challenges. 

  • Youth Art Education Program


    Across the six host museums in the Connecting the Dots program, 60 young individuals have been selected to join the Youth Art Education program. They engage with an art and history curriculum that encourages personal and creative responses to artefacts, culturally significant narratives and symbols. Through a digital publication made available towards the end of the program, audiences are invited to explore the youths' creations and interpretations, igniting inspiration to connect with Nigerian heritage and craft their own representations.

Youth Art Education Program

Gallery

 
  • Connectig the Dots Fellows in front of a mud wall in Kaduna © Goethe-Institut

  • Connecting the Dots fellows on a bare hill © Goethe-Institut

  • Cane basket © Goethe-Institut

  • COD Fellows looking at an exhibit © Goethe-Institut

  • COD Fellows painting a Museum prototype © Goethe-Institut

  • COD Fellows in a circle © Goethe-Institut

  • COD Fellows holding up their hand made tiedye © Goethe-Institut

  • Girl focused on her painting © Goethe-Institut

  • Items made by COD © Goethe-Institut

  • COD making work with bottle covers © Goethe-Institut

  • COD and Youth looking over drawing © Goethe-Institut

  • COD youth posing by art work © Goethe-Institut

  • COD and youth making work with cane © Goethe-Institut

  • COD posing in front of work © Goethe-Institut

  • COD Benin Bronze heads © Goethe-Institut

Museum Conversation Series

The museum conversation series takes place at the six Connecting the Dots host museums across Nigeria, working with local communities, historians, researchers and young artists to create a series of dialogues addressing museum content, both historic and contemporary, as a strategy to promote community engagement and a participatory approach to curating museum content and better connecting them with the communities. The program also presents the avenue for audiences to engage with the outcomes from each fellow's research as well as witness the exhibitions and presentations of the young cohort participating in the Youth Art Education program.

Host: A.G Leventis Museum of Natural History, OAU

Rediscovering & Retelling Yoruba Science & Technological History


The inaugural session of the "Connecting the Dots" (CtD) Museum Conversations Series is hosted by the A. G. Leventis Museum of Natural History, OAU. Themed "Rediscovering & Retelling Yoruba Science & Technological History," the conversation spotlights recent studies that challenge long-held Eurocentric narratives on technological development in Africa by highlighting the indigenous contributions to glass bead technology among the Yorubas dating back to the 11th century. The program also features captivating research presentations by Yahuza Garba, the outgoing “Connecting the Dots” felow, who spent six months researching glass bead technology in southwestern Nigeria. Additionally, attendees enjoy displays and presentations from youth cohorts in the Youth Art Education program, followed by a batik-making workshop.

COD Museum Converstaion © Goethe-Institut © Goethe-Institut

  • Host: National Museum, Kaduna

    Ethnographic Collections, Way Forward For A Sustainable Culture


    The program features conversations on challenges and remedies to heritage management in Nigerian museums and the significance of ethnographic collections in shaping contemporary cultural dialogue. 
    Spotlighting her illustrious fellowship experience and research focus over six months, “Connecting the Dots” museum fellow Ifunanya Madufor presents a play developed in collaboration with students from the Faculty of Arts at Kaduna State University. Additionally, ten young participants from the “Connecting the Dots” Youth Art Education program present an exhibition and showcase their talents through performances inspired by their workshop experiences, including a session on contemporary dance in collaboration with @mudartcompany

  • Host: CRIMMD Museum

    "Nigeria in Transition: An Exhibition on Postage Stamps, Currency, and Beverage Bottles," presented by the CRIMMD Nigeria History Museum


    The Nigeria in Transition exhibition is the third instalment of the Museum Conversation series in the "Connecting the Dots” museum project. It centres material culture dating to pre-colonial Nigeria, and spanning the duration of 124 years. Using the prisms of postage stamps, currencies and beverage bottles as mediums of inquiry, discovery and for some, nostalgia, it explores the social-political memories that the items displayed in this exhibition hold.  The exhibition also features a visual essay by Bayo Omoboriowo on Nigeria's transition from military rule to democracy, the focus of his “Connecting the Dots” fellowship at the CRIMMD Museum over six months. The event features an engaging exhibition talk with distinguished panellists on stamp design and collecting and presentations by the young individuals who participated in the “Connecting the Dots” Youth Art Education Program. 

  • Host: National Museum Benin City

    Promoting Indigenous Arts in Benin: Strategies for Preservation and Innovation


    For the fourth instalment of the Museum Conversation series, the "Connecting the Dots" train made an exciting stop at the National Museum in Benin City.

    On July 25th, the museum opened its doors for audiences to explore its space and collection through a series of activities facilitated by the young individuals participating in the "Connecting the Dots" Youth Art Education program. Activities on the open day include a museum tour, art presentations, exhibition, and an art workshop. 

    On July 27th, there was a cultural forum on "Promoting Indigenous Arts in Benin: Strategies for Preservation and Innovation," led by "Connecting the Dots" fellow Toluwanimi Owolana. Toluwanimi presented her research on endangered crafts in Benin and launch a graphic novel she developed during her six-month fellowship at the museum.

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