African aesthetics and decolonial aesthesis

Abstract

Officially opened to the public in 2014, the art museum in Masvingo was founded on a huge private collection of artworks and other collections. This project, fully funded by a family foundation, saw the construction of a museum from the ground and operating with personal funds and skeletal but dedicated staff. The collection includes handmade art, souvenirs, and mementoes mainly from East Africa and West Africa. This institution highlights the desire by individuals to establish alternative museums to preserve personal genealogical identities and promote African art. Judging from the nature of its collection, curatorial strategies, exhibitions, and activities, the museum further debunks the central notions of art and aesthetics, which are based on Western perspectives. Its informal and non-expert curatorial approaches makes the art museum a ‘disobedient museum’ (Message, 2018) – one that deliberately unsettles normative and standardised museum practices. Thus, the art museum allows us to unravel conceptions of museum curation and aesthetics, contributing to ongoing debates on decolonial aesthesis within museums.