The awareness, understanding and appreciation of African art and culture are largely non-existent in Ireland. Art, being a strong unifying factor all over the globe, requires a permanent place to be created to cater for the ever changing demographic of Ireland state.

Origin of African Collection

The Sub-Saharan artworks are represented by roughly four thousand pieces of unique artefacts, one-third of which belongs to Ghana and other former British colonies: Nigeria and Sierra Leone. The art objects from non-British territories were brought from Zaire, Ethiopia and Madagascar. The Irish involvement in the broadening of African culture in the country can be attributed to the fact that Ireland has a long history of relations with Great Britain. The acquisition of antiquities to the African collection of Irish National Museum began around the 1600s, during the periods of active colonisation of the African continent by the British Empire. Initially, donors of artefacts were British settlers in the Western African territories (e.g., the Gold Coast) or naval officers engaged in slave trade.

The Future of African Collection

In the mid-1920s, when European and Asian museums seemed to demonstrate enthusiasm about enlarging collections of African art, the stream of donations to Irish National Museum tended to cease.  This loss of interest in the African exhibits is linked to the fact that the British Government had ratified the Treaty of 1922, securing Irish Independence. It implies that Ireland’s contacts to the former British colonies were no more sufficient to bring new antiquities to the African section of the National Museum. Nevertheless, it does not mean that the general public lost interest in the continent’s art or the National Museum refused to expand its collection. On the contrary, the idea to establish an independent African Museum of art is more popular than ever while the impact of the continent on the life of Irish people (missionaries, officers, travellers, settlers, and merchants) cannot be underestimated. The intention of African Museum Ireland to reflect these processes in the African collection is an excellent way to show that art is an instrument of multiculturalism and integration to boost tourism ecosystem.