Uganda Museum for face lift

By Brian OurienOVER the years, the number of visitors to the museum has steadily declined, rendering it eerily silent for most of the day, save for when a lone visitor walks in. Many look forward to finding something new, only to get disappointed at finding little. It has been described unflatteringly as uninteresting, old fashioned, and outright dull.The atmosphere is musty and almost scary. Relics of old stand frozen in time behind thick glass.“It is now a bit boring to go to the museum. When we were younger, it was fun. Everything was so fascinating. But now we know all about it. There is nothing new to see,” says Jonah Mugenyi, a student at Makerere University. More people share this view, agreeing that the museum should be more than just a school of history. It should move with the times, they say.George Iga in Kampala’s Industrial area says the appearance of the museum should be improved and other cultural heritage sites opened because the museum as it is now, is too small: “The museum is static,” he says. “When you read about museums in novels, they are depicted as vast, lively places, but ours doesn’t seem to have enough to make it lively.” This is because the things Iga saw when he was in primary four are the same things he sees now. He wants to see art like paintings and sculptures accommodated there.Walking through the dimly-lit alleys of the Uganda Museum is like re-living Uganda’s history. It is a different world; the hidden treasure of a mystic way of life. The spears in the glass enclosures speak of war, bravery and ruthlessness, while the crafts and traditional musical instruments tell tales of a vibrant life.“If someone tapped me on the back while I walked through the museum, I would instantly imagine him dressed in animal skin and holding a spear,” a visitor to the museum says.Since its inception in 1908 at Old Kampala and its eventual transfer to its current location in Kamwokya, the Uganda Museum has served as a visual library of Uganda’s amazing history. Countless students and tourists have walked through the history of “The Pearl of Africa,” spanning centuries of pristine existence.“It is for the purpose of education in the cultural heritage of Uganda and in its history,” says Rose Mwanja Principal Conservator of Antiquities and Museums at the Ministry of Tourism, Trade and Industry.But now the museum officials want to do more to attract schools and institutions. It is a shift to the use of artists to depict the cultural environment of Uganda and the ordinary way of life of the people, an approach towards teaching contemporary culture.“Artists have vision. That is why we want to use them to foster tourism in this institution. We have realised that people are tired of only historical things. They also need to see contemporary things,” Mwanja says.She recognises that people are tired of looking at the same thing over and over again, but also looks at the need to drive them to more pertinent issues instead of them visiting the museum just for leisure or research. “We need to tackle social issues. The gap between the old and new has to be bridged so that we can understand the trends. We believe that art is a strong aspect in linking the past with the contemporary,” the Conservator says.Artist Theresa Musoke says the museum should be relevant to the people, but quickly adds that our museum has faced a lot of problems including wars and little funding.“It doesn’t compare with the Nairobi museum because one is like a child standing alongside an adult. But comparing the two is unfair because we are not in the same category. They have had peace and lots of funding injected into the museum,” she says.She however has hope that the Uganda museum will some day develop into an exciting institution. Mwanja says: “we are going to put in place lots of activities that will entice people to come and visit the museum.”One of the exciting activities to be introduced is an art club that will give artists a platform to share ideas about social development through art.“The museum should be a home for artists,” she says, and hopes that when she is done with the ‘overhaul,’ it will be one of the most attractive cultural institutions in Uganda.