A Museum in a Refugee Camp. The National Museum of the Saharawi People in Algeria, Its Use and Function

Abstract

AbstractThe paper considers the unique conditions that describe the National Museum of the Saharawi People, its relationship with visitors and its representation of the rights of residents of the refugee camp where it is located. In 1998, a National Museum of the Saharawi People was created in one of the several Saharawi refugee camps established in Eastern Algeria in the mid‐1970s. The museum was designed to provide knowledge about the cultures of the Western Sahara and to disseminate information about the challenges faced in the Saharawi territory. In 2006, a new curatorial investment was made and new exhibits mounted following a devastating flood that destroyed a substantial portion of the museum. In 2013 the Museum was remodelled. This case study undertaken after the 2013 reinstallation explored comments in the visitor books to understand how the museum contributed to cultural heritage, participated in the process of social cohesion, and supported the political struggle of a people demanding their right to self‐determination after decades of exclusion as residents in a refugee camp.