By Lamin Sanyang
Baba Ceesay, Director General of the National Center For Arts and Culture NCAC has called on The Gambia Government to build a multipurpose national museum to preserve the national heritage and the identity of the country.
Speaking to this medium at his office in Banjul, Ceesay said the current national museum which was a colonial building is not only small but was not purposely built for a museum.
“Museum is a kind of repository for national identity and cultural heritage,” Baba Ceesay, NCAC Director General said.
The NCAC Director General has explained the necessity to build a multi purpose national museum with adequate space to conserve objects. He talked about the importance of having enough storage facilities in the museum, saying they are iconic buildings.
“You cannot collect artifacts when you don’t have space,” Baba Ceesay lamented.
He added: “Usually, in most countries museums are a symbol of pride.”
Ceesay further raised concerns for lack of space to display things in the museum as the guests are more interested in seeing ‘Kankurang’ dancing than looking at mere stature. He also talked about rooms for educational programmes. He added that the museum should be an iconic building.
The NCAC Director General also said that the current museum which has environmental problems. He explained that the building attracts a lot of humidity because of the materials that were used to built it. He said the high humidity of the building is affecting the conserving of objects.
“We need a purpose build museum. Mostly, museums are fine and iconic buildings that one can relate to,” he pointed out.
Ceesay said there is need to have museum kitchen where the guests would come and eat any Gambian food they want. He encouraged the government to invest in cultural infrastructure. He said such investments last longer than investing on festivals. He also recommended the construction of national theatre for performing arts to nurture talents, building publishing houses to nurture talents and so on.
Meanwhile, Director General Ceesay talked about the monetary constraints facing his institution. He said they received subvention from the government to pay staff salary which is not enough. He said they also make income from tourists which is seasonal.
