Yale Directors Forum

We are excited to host "Preserving Cultural Heritage: Global Strategies and Perspectives," a week-long series of talks at Yale University featuring global leaders in the cultural heritage sector, including some of our trailblazing Yale Yale Directors Forum fellows. Hear from Wanjiru Koinange on transforming Kenya’s public libraries, Seun Oduwole on bringing history to life in Nigeria, Oyindamola F. & Malick Ndiaye on building West African art institutions, and Oyungerel Tsedevdamba on preserving Mongolia’s cultural legacy. Don’t miss this chance to engage with trailblazers shaping the future of cultural heritage! ?? April 1-4, 2025 #YaleDirectorsForum #YaleWorldFellows #CulturalHeritage #GlobalStrategies #YaleEvents #MuseumInnovation #LibrariesOfTheFuture #ArtInstitutions #GlobalLeadership

We are delighted to announce the establishment of The Nkyinkyim Museum Heritage Conservation Institute as part of the Yale Directors Forum collections management capacity-building program at Nkyinkyim Museum in Ghana. Nkyinkyim Museum was founded by multi-disciplinary artist Kwame Akoto-Bamfo. The collections management capacity building program included an assessment of Nkyinkyim Museum's sculpture and painting collections, preventative conservation care, and remedial emergency training to preserve the materials. ? #YaleDirectorsForum #CulturalHeritage #InnovationInPreservation #CollectionsManagement #ArtConservation

Egypt recently announced the discovery of Thutmose II royal tomb. The excavation suggests that Hatshepsut, Thutmose II’s wife built the burial tomb after she took over the throne. Congratulations to Egypt on this fascinating discovery which provides new evidence of Hatshepsut’s pivotal leadership! https://lnkd.in/exh5ahjd #Egypt? #Culturalheritage #archaelogy #heritagepresevation

Last month, we were in Senegal visiting Yale Directors Forum fellow Malick Ndiaye and conducting a collections management capacity-building workshop at musée Théodore Monod d'art africain, Institut Fondamental d'Afrique Noire (IFAN). The collections management capacity building program includes an assessment of collections, preventative conservation care, and remedial emergency training to preserve collections at Yale Directors Forum fellows’ institutions. #YaleDirectorsForum #CulturalHeritage #ArtConservation #InnovationInPreservation #CollectionsManagement

“The bravest thing you can do as an artist is to pick up an uncomfortable human rights issue because people want to be happy with art. People want to sip wine and feel good about themselves.” - Kwame Akoto-Bamfo Kwame Akoto-Bamfo, a Yale Directors Forum fellow, Founder, and Director of the Nkyinkyim Museum was recently featured in a Guardian article celebrating his work. Learn more here: https://lnkd.in/eezjMi-N? #YaleDirectorsForum #Culturalheritage #Innovationinpreservation #Sculpture #nkyinkimmuseum

#ICYMI The Netherlands has agreed to return 119 Benin Bronzes to Nigeria marking the single largest return to date of Benin antiquities looted by the British military as part of its 1897 punitive expedition. https://lnkd.in/drxAGgAV #BeninBronzes #Restitution

“These stories are not taught in schools. You will never hear them in the mainstream media. You only hear them in places of community, in old stories that the knowledge keepers remember and in forgotten memories” - Samba Yonga. MA, YDF fellow and Co-Founder of Museum of Women's History Zambia. Learn more about the Museum of Women’s History Zambia and their efforts to revive indigenous knowledge systems in Zambia. https://lnkd.in/dpgA735W #ThoughtLeadership #DecolonialKnowledgeProduction #IndigenousKnowledgeSystems #YaleDirectorsForum

“African art is not a fleeting trend, as some galleries in the Western world might suggest. While there has been a surge in showcasing African contemporary art, particularly portraiture, over the past few years this represents only a fraction of what African art has to offer … It spans a rich diversity of mediums, practices, and traditions that go far beyond figurative portraiture.” - Othman LAZRAQ, President of the? Museum of African Contemporary Art Al Maaden (Macaal) in Marrakech, Morocco. #ICYMI The Museum of African Contemporary Art Al Maaden (MACAAL) in Marrakech, Morocco, officially reopened to the public in February 2025 after extensive renovations. Learn more here: https://lnkd.in/dR5SqDQE? #Macaal #contemporaryart #AfricanArt #AfricanMuseums

Watch this video to hear from Bongani Mgijima, Yale Directors Forum fellow and Director of Stellenbosch University Museum, who gave a thought-provoking presentation at the inaugural ‘Re-thinking Exhibition Practices for African Museums and Africa-focussed’ exhibitions’ Workshop, held in Lagos Nigeria. The workshop, organized by YDF Seun Oduwole, Co-founder and Director of Living Object, and Principal at SI.SA ( Studio Imagine Simply Architecture ) examined strategies for: promoting cultural inclusivity, creating ethical and sustainable collections management models, enhancing audience engagement and co-creation experiences with local African communities, and designing inclusive museum spaces.? https://lnkd.in/dVYtUNxM #YaleDirectorsForum #CulturalHeritage #LivingObject #ThoughtLeadership

Did you know that Capoeira, a sport that mixes martial art and dance, is one of Brazil's biggest cultural exports to the world? Its practice is steeped in traditions from Angola - and now a new generation of African children are rediscovering its appeal. Watch this video to learn more: https://lnkd.in/e2KDSQ4t? #culturalheritage #tradition #sports #InnovationInPreservation