System of Objects Production and Issues of Museum Process in Contemporary Africa: Art and Heritage in the Bamum Cultural Universe

Abstract

Whereas the system of object production in the Bamum country was originally closely linked to the political and social organization embodied by royal authority, it is also noticeable that, in recent times, artists have emancipated themselves and now occupy a prominent place in this society. They have gradually moved away from a traditionalism that limited their creative freedom through the reproduction of essentially ethnographic objects (ritual or symbolic). Today’s trend is influenced by aesthetic and economic concerns. This development should have an impact on the ongoing process of musealization in this kingdom, where the objects on display contribute more to the staging of power and the transmission of cultural values. This situation contrasts with the increasingly popular rise of contemporary works that belong more to the realm of art than to heritage. This shift in perspective raises the issue of the inadequacy of the museological project in relation to present realities. However, concerns for the preservation and enhancement of heritage can adapt to exhibition demands in this era of globalization. In other words, this situation gives rise to divergences between the external artistic gaze and local meanings. Through the current artistic dynamism in Foumban, the Bamum region offers an interesting experimental framework for confronting elements of tradition and modernity that are currently in vogue. In this context, the recently established museum in the region, primarily dedicated to royal collections, seems to endorse a postcolonial approach namely ethnographic, identity-centered, and essentially nostalgic at the expense of aesthetics.