The U.S. Mission recently initiated the Ambassador’s Fund for Cultural Preservation (AFCP) project titled “Sustaining a Partnership in Conservation and Preservation” between the National Museum, Lagos, and Yale University Art Gallery.
This project involved Yale University Gallery of Art conducting two conservation training workshops for conservators at the National Museum Lagos and staff from Yaba College of Technology Lagos.
These workshops were aimed at enhancing the preservation of historic Nigerian artefacts through advanced storage, documentation, and treatment techniques.
The workshops held in Lagos were led by conservators from the Yale University Art Gallery and the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art.
Additional training was provided for several Nigerian museum conservators in the United States at the Yale University Art Gallery.
During an exhibition held in Lagos to mark the project’s completion, U.S. Consul General Will Stevens emphasized the U.S. government’s commitment to preserving Nigeria’s cultural heritage, utilizing the AFCP and other collaborative mechanisms.
He stated,
Julie McKay, U.S. Consulate Public Affairs Officer, emphasized that this project bolstered the cultural preservation partnership between the U.S. and Nigeria.
It achieved this by providing support for workshops in conservation techniques that were advantageous for both the National Commission for Museum and Monuments in Nigeria and American museum professionals.
Director General of the National Commission for Museums and Monuments, Professor Abba Issa Tijani, highlighted the significance of AFCP projects within Nigerian museums.
He emphasized that the project facilitated a valuable two-way exchange between Nigerian and American wood conservators.
James Green, Curator of African Art at the Yale University Gallery of Art, pointed out that the project promoted the exchange of ideas between Nigerian conservators and their counterparts in the United States regarding advanced conservation techniques.
In the past ten years, the United States has collaborated with the Nigerian government and state institutions to provide funding for projects exceeding one million dollars, aimed at enhancing Nigeria’s capacity in managing its cultural heritage.
