Independent museums and culture centres in colonial and postcolonial Zimbabwe

Independent Museums and Culture Centres in Colonial and Post-colonial Zimbabwe presents case studies that grapple with the issue of ‘decolonising practice’ in privately owned museums and cultural centres in Zimbabwe.

Including contributions from academics and practitioners, this book focusses on privately run cultural institutions and highlights that there has, until now, been scant scholarly information about their existence and practice. Arguing that the recent resurgence of such museums, which are not usually obliged to endorse official narratives of the central government, points to some desire to decolonise and indigenise museums, the contributors explore approaches that have been used to reconfigure such colonially inherited institutions to suit the post-colonial terrain. The volume also explores how privately owned museums can tap into or contribute to current conversations on decoloniality that encourage reflexivity, inclusivity, de-patriarchy, multivocality, community participation, and agency. Exploring the motives and purpose of such institutions, the book argues that they are being utilised to confront deeply entrenched stigmatisation and marginalisation.

Independent Museums and Culture Centres in Colonial and Post-colonial Zimbabwe demonstrates that post-colonial African museums have become an arena for negotiating history, legacies, and identities. The book will be of interest to academics and students around the world who are engaged in the study of museums and heritage, African studies, history, and culture. It will also appeal to museum practitioners working across Africa and beyond.

Thomas P. Thondhlana holds an MSc in Technology and Analysis of Archaeological Materials and a PhD in Archaeology both from the University College London (UCL), United Kingdom. He is currently the holder of the UNESCO Chair on African Heritage and Director of the Centre for Culture and Heritage Studies at Great Zimbabwe University. He is also serving as a member of the National World Heritage Committee and Standing Committee on Culture in Zimbabwe. His research interests cut across several areas which include pre-colonial mining and metallurgy, archaeological science, cultural entrepreneurship, cultural economics, liberation heritage, and museology. He is a co-editor of the book entitled "African Museums in the Making: Reflections on the Politics of Material and Public Culture in Zimbabwe" (2015, Langaa Research & Publishing Common Initiative Group).

Jesmael Mataga is an Associate Professor and the inaugural Head of the School of Humanities at the Sol Plaatje University (SPU) in South Africa. He has experience in museums and heritage management with interests in museum curation, communities and museums, heritage and communities, intangible cultural heritage, cultural diversity, and UNESCO conventions. Before joining the Sol Plaatje University, he taught in Culture and Heritage Studies programmes, at the National University of Lesotho and the University of Zimbabwe. He started his career as a curator with the National Museums and Monuments of Zimbabwe. His recent work includes a co-written book, Museums as Agents for Social Change (2021, Routledge).

Dawson Munjeri is a Research Professor at the Centre for Culture and Heritage Studies at the Great Zimbabwe University since March 2018. He is one of the most experienced scholars in the cultural and natural heritage field from Zimbabwe. He was instrumental in setting up the ‘Oral traditions/history’ programme of the National Archives of Zimbabwe (1978 -1983). Between 1984 and 2001 he served in various capacities and eventually became the Executive Director of the National Museums and Monuments of Zimbabwe (NMMZ). From March 2002 to December 2017 he was with the Zimbabwe Permanent Delegation to UNESCO in Paris. He has published over fifty book chapters and articles in refereed journals on both tangible and intangible heritage. He holds a PhD in International Relations and Diplomacy from the Centre d’ Etudes Diplomatique et Strategies, Paris. His PhD research was entitled: ‘An Analytical Approach to International Treaties on Cultural and Natural Heritage in the Context of Sub-Saharan Africa’.