On December 1, 2013, the Royal Museum for Central Africa (RMCA) in Tervuren, Belgium, closed its doors to allow for a three-year renovation. Several years of planning and preparations preceded this moment, with respect to both the museum building and its projected extensions and to the necessity to develop a new permanent exhibition. The closure of the museum received considerable public attention. Taking the closing events and their press coverage as a starting point, I wish to reflect on the divergence of opinion that exists with respect to what is at stake with the RMCA's renovation project (Fig. 1). In so doing I will pay particular attention to the evolution in the way the institution's collections have been framed in the last two decades. My main argument is that parallel to the development of a new critical thinking in the museum, the RMCA has, in line with global...
Skip Nav Destination
Article navigation
Fall 2016
September 01 2016
On Shared Heritage and Its (False) Promises
Hein Vanhee
Hein Vanhee
Hein Vanhee is a museum curator and historian at the Royal Museum for Central Africa (RMCA Tervuren, Belgium, www.africamuseum.be). He is also affiliated with the KongoKing research group at Ghent University (www.kongoking.org). [email protected]
Search for other works by this author on:
Hein Vanhee
Hein Vanhee is a museum curator and historian at the Royal Museum for Central Africa (RMCA Tervuren, Belgium, www.africamuseum.be). He is also affiliated with the KongoKing research group at Ghent University (www.kongoking.org). [email protected]
Online ISSN: 1937-2108
Print ISSN: 0001-9933
© 2016 by the Regents of the University of California.
2016
African Arts (2016) 49 (3): 1–7.
Citation
Hein Vanhee; On Shared Heritage and Its (False) Promises. African Arts 2016; 49 (3): 1–7. doi: https://doi.org/10.1162/AFAR_a_00295
Download citation file:
Sign in
Don't already have an account? Register
Client Account
You could not be signed in. Please check your email address / username and password and try again.
Could not validate captcha. Please try again.
Sign in via your Institution
Sign in via your InstitutionEmail alerts
Advertisement
Cited By
Related Articles
Is Repatriation Inevitable?
African Arts (February,2019)
AfricaMuseum reopening Tervuren, Belgium
African Arts (June,2020)
Aspen the Verb: Musings on Heritage and Virtuality
Presence: Teleoperators and Virtual Environments (June,2006)
Related Book Chapters
The Heritage
The Rise of Political Economy as a Science: Methodology and the Classical Economists
Cultural Heritage and Virtual Systems
Theorizing Digital Cultural Heritage: A Critical Discourse
Heritage
The Warcraft Civilization: Social Science in a Virtual World
Jerusalem: A Heritage
The Harvard Jerusalem Studio: Urban Designs for the Holy City