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Digital Collection

With approximately 90% of artefacts worldwide kept in museum storage, our Digital team are leveraging emerging technologies to create a new way of interacting with these treasures.

Understanding the past is essential to shaping the future. Our artefacts tell stories that resonate beyond borders. Regardless of their locations far and wide, making these pieces of history accessible to everyone is a great place to start not only on the road of preservation but inspiration.

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By providing a digital platform, we aim to inspire job creation and a deeper appreciation of culture and heritage, shaping the future today.
― Ore Disu, Director, MOWAA Institute
In August 2022, the Museum of West African Art (MOWAA) initiated a multi-year programme: Digitising African Heritage.

This timely and ambitious initiative seeks to digitally preserve collections at home and reunite geographically dispersed ancient African artworks.

In collaboration with Nigeria’s National Commission for Museums and Monuments (NCMM), the project intends to:  

  • Preserve and improve accessibility to heritage assets with high-resolution digital recordings of West African antiquities   
  • Establish the foundation for digital infrastructure in Nigeria, with opensource and user-friendly capabilities designed to sustainably integrate other related digital heritage assets  
  • Build local facilities to create, manage and engage with digital collections in multifaceted ways  
  • Expand public learning surrounding significant cultural artefacts and the historic centres and civilisations they stem from    

MOWAA’s digital collection showcases a diverse range of artefacts, offering a glimpse into the rich heritage and cultural legacy of West Africa. Through this collection, we celebrate the region’s craftsmanship and traditions, presenting ceremonial objects, tools, textiles, and more.