„African Expeditions, Asian Ways” is available at the State Ethnographic Museum in Warsaw since October 2020. In 2024, it has become a subject of our reflection and actions towards a new look at the representation of African and Asian cultural heritage. An important impulse for this reflection was a meeting with our audiences, including representatives of the communities and cultures of origin of the exhibits. It brought our attention to the inadequate, simplistic way of depicting cultures, traditions and objects, at times based on stereotypes and colonial clichés. This way of thinking was developed by explorers, including those of Polish origin, who since the 19th century tried to get to know African and Asian countries with a limited perspective and knowledge. They became the protagonists of this exhibition, and its narrative is built upon their perspective.
Aware of the defects, shortcomings and distortions present within the exhibition, we decided to act. We invited people interested in both the exhibition and the broader aspect of the representation of the cultural heritage of Africa and Asia to join our efforts, including representatives of the communities inhabiting these continents. Using textual, visual or audio commentary, these people address a selected object or issue present in the exhibition, and the visitors can explore this material through QR codes placed in the exhibition space and available through the museum’s website. The aim of this intervention is to nuance the discourse created some years ago which reflected the perspective of Polish explorers, and its polyphony allows for an effective introduction of alternative narratives, diversification of perspectives and interpretations.
Intervening in finalized exhibition projects is a museum practice that allows for the introduction of new content after retrospective critical analysis. This process, which we have initiated and will continue in the coming years, will allow the contents of „African expeditions, Asian Ways” to be updated in accordance with new knowledge and social perspectives. It’s part of the activities inspired by post-colonial thinking and de-colonial practices in museums which we have recently undertaken. These include: critical reflection on the genesis and history of the collection, examining the provenance of the objects and consulting representatives of the communities of origin of these exhibits on ways to represent their history, cultures and heritage. These activities will also lead us towards the concept
for a new permanent exhibition to replace „African expeditions, Asian Ways” and explore the difficult and ambiguous stories of the objects in the collection of the State Ethnographic Museum.
