Benin/International Museum of Vodun in Porto-Novo: The Government receives 86 cultural and religious works

Within the framework of the realization of the project of construction of the International Museum of Vodun in Porto-Novo, the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Arts, Mr. Jean-Michel ABIMBOLA presided on Friday, February 11, 2022 in Cotonou, the official ceremony of reception of 86 cultural and cultic works for the benefit of the Beninese State. A collection of Mr. Uros POPOVIC, Honorary Consul of Serbia, a passionate of African art.

This operation is a new illustration of the significant progress that the Government of President Patrice TALON records in the implementation of its museum development strategy undertaken since 2016 .

"After the study phase at the architectural and scenographic levels, we have started the construction site of the museum infrastructure. The immense work carried out has allowed us to structure our approach towards an enrichment of national collections to ensure visitors a fruitful immersion in the extraordinary cultural and heritage field that we are working to reveal to ourselves and the world ..." will say Minister Jean-Michel ABIMBOLA.

For the Director General of ANPT, Mr. Edmond TOLI, these 86 collected objects are made up of masks, single bochio, double bochio, composite bochio, assin, etc.. They become the property of the Government for a symbolic franc through a notarized deed of transfer which is the subject of an official transfer.

The Collector, Mr. Uros POPOVIC for his part, is delighted with the holding of this important transfer operation which testifies to the will of the Government of Benin to make tourism a fundamental lever of the economic growth, to develop and promote the rich heritage of Benin. For him, it is a duty, a recognition to the hospitality that Benin has shown him for over 30 years.

Then followed the transfer of the notarized deed of transfer between the Collector and the Director General of the ANPT in the presence of the Minister and the Notary Olagnika SALAM. This was to mark the official reception by the Beninese State of the 86 works that are now part of the national heritage.

For Jean-Michel ABIMBOLA, the 86 objects officially received this Friday, will serve as a support for the production of knowledge through a content that reconstructs whatFor Jean-Michel ABIMBOLA, the 86 objects officially received on Friday will serve as a support for the production of knowledge through a content that reconstructs what the Vodun is, in a perspective of discovery, of its deities, their nature, their functions in society and the refutation of theses and pejorative conceptions on its subjects. He ended by praising the commendable act of Mr. Uros POPOVIC, which supports the realization of the Government's vision, and wished that other private collectors would follow in his footsteps.

Through this act, a new big step has been taken by the Government in the framework of its ambition to provide Benin with an international museum of Vodun which will soon be erected in Porto-Novo.

Source: www.gouv.bj