Cultural policy in Liberia

Cultural policy, according to Wikipedia, describes the actions, laws and programmes of a government, which regulate, protect, encourage and financially, or otherwise, support activities related to the arts and creative sectors. Such policy aims to improve the accessibility of arts and creative activities to citizens and promote the literary, artistic, musical, ethnic, sociolinguistic and other forms of expression of all people in a country.[2]

“We don’t have a nationally-adopted culture policy, and this has been the case since the country’s independence. In the absence of such a policy, the promotion and preservation of our cultural heritage will not be a priority,” said Darius Gweh, director of culture at the Liberian Ministry of Information, Cultural Affairs and Tourism.[3]

State interventions in the absence of cultural policy

Although Liberia has never had a nationally adopted cultural policy, successive governments, from 1952 to the 1980s, undertook several initiatives to promote the country’s diverse culture and heritage. One such initiative happened in 1952 when the government of Liberia established the Bureau of Folkways at the Ministry of Local Government (now Internal Affairs).[4]

The Bureau of Folkways act stated that, “The greatest obstacle to full integration and national unity lay in the absence of a synthesis of the two great streams of culture ｰ western and African. In achieving that synthesis, it would be important to know the cultural patterns of the different tribes of Liberia, including their folkways, mores and ethnography.” The bureau, during its existence, published several books on Liberian folklore and culture, a move that signalled the beginning of the country's cultural renaissance.[5]

In 1963, a new law saw the functions of the Bureau of Folkways taken over by the Ministry of Information, Cultural Affairs and Tourism (MICAT), with only a few changes made to existing legislature. One of these few changes was a clear distinction between the meaning of 'culture' as opposed to 'folklore', which reflected the acknowledgement by the government on the need to promote Liberian culture through institutional means.[6]

According to the law, the functions of MICAT were to initiate programmes for the production, preservation and popularisation of Liberia’s cultural heritage, and to operate the National Cultural Center and the Ethnographical Museum, thus making the ministry the executive arm responsible for directing and supervising all matters relating to official cultural programmes.

Cultural centres

A year later, after the establishment of MICAT in 1964, the government of Liberia opened the National Cultural Centre in Kendeja, near Monrovia, to promote culture as a tool for national integration. The centre provided a panorama of tribal life, customs and traditions.[7] It consisted of 31 tribal huts and palaver kitchens, which served as the home and workplace for the members of a culture troupe. It also boasted an exhibition hall, a stadium and dancing arena. The members of the cultural troupe were mostly from the traditional Poro and Sande schools and practised music, dance, arts and crafts. During its existence, the troupe took part in international cultural festivals and was commended for being “originally African”, winning a bronze medal at the Pan-African Arts and Cultural Festival in Algiers in 1969. Back home, the troupe, whose repertoire included dances and dramatisations of various aspects of tribal and national life ｰ performed primarily at official state occasions like visits of heads of state and inaugurations.[8]

Following the success of the National Cultural Centre, another cultural village and museum, Behsao, was built in Bomi County in the late 1970s. Behsao is the home and burial place of King Ngola, one of the several traditional leaders who signed the Treaty of Friendship with the settlers in 1821 to establish the Republic of Liberia.[9]

Museums

Being cognisant of the need to showcase, preserve and protect Liberia’s cultural artifacts, the government in the 1960s and 1970s established several museums across the country, and subsidised a number of private ones. The museum built at the Culture Centre, before its destruction during the country’s 14 years of civil war, housed valuable collections of traditional artifacts and antiquities from across the country.[10]

Besides the museum at the Culture Centre, the government also built in Robertsport, in Liberia's northwest, the Tubman Centre for African Culture, named after President William Tubman. This was further evidence of the government's commitment to diversify the preservation and collection of Liberian cultural artefacts at the time.[11] Before its destruction during the civil war, the museum hosted international scholars interested in studying African culture, particularly Liberian culture. During the opening of the museum on 29 November 1964, Dr Charles Dunbar Sherman praised the government's efforts to place more emphasis on the promotion and preservation of the country’s culture and heritage. “No nation, large or small, can achieve a true sense of dignity and pride where it cannot find its historic roots or identify the contributions of its ancestors to the culture from which it now draws sustenance. It is for similar reasons that the government saw the need to pay more positive retention to the culture; and it is to ensure that all Liberians are one, with the same historical roots and the same destiny,” he said.[12]

In 2017, the Liberian National Museum underwent extensive renovations to meet international standards. Speaking at the opening of the refurbished museum, the Information, Cultural Affairs and Tourism Minister, Lenn Eugene Nagbe, said, “For more than a decade, the museum has been a shadow of its former self, ravaged by wars and other social disruptions. Now it is back, strong and vibrant, filled with Liberia’s art, culture, and history.”

The first tiers of the museum contain cartographic materials and the memoirs of past presidents. The second and third tiers comprise art galleries that house artistic works by Liberian artists.[13]

Finally, in Bong County, central Liberia, lies the African Museum. Privately owned by Cuttington University, the museum contains a number of valuable traditional artefacts, including tools and weapons from the region.

Cultural troupes

One of the most noteworthy elements of the Liberian cultural renaissance of the 1960s and 1970s was the emergence of cultural troupes at Liberian high schools. The first school that started such initiatives was William VS Tubman High School. Next was BW Harris Episcopal High School, and then several other schools across the country followed suit.[14]

The wide acceptance of this initiative among high schools marked a significant departure, as for the first time Christian parents allowed their daughters to perform on stage bare-breasted and dressed in traditional grass skirts with white chalk makeup.[15] Another noteworthy achievement of the cultural renaissance was the teaching of traditional and modern art the University of Liberia by some of the nation’s leading artists. Arts education was also an optional subject in many schools in the early 1970s, and, during this period, the government also sponsored several contemporary artists, painters and sculptors to travel abroad for advanced training.[16]

Current state of affairs

In terms of an official cultural policy, Liberia currently finds itself at a crossroads. This situation is due to the lack of a nationally adopted cultural policy, which has created a policy gap and subsequent neglect of the sector. Such a policy gap is evidenced by the post-war governments of Liberia, including that of former President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and the incumbent President George Weah, who in their respective national development agenda have not duly recognised the needs of the arts and culture sector.

Because of this, MICAT has been underfunded for more than a decade, thereby strangling the ministry’s efforts to protect, safeguard and promote the nation’s cultural heritage. In comparison, the education and sports sectors have been relatively well-funded and supported by the government.

Article 5 of the country’s 1986 Constitution mandates the government to preserve, protect and promote positive Liberian culture, and ensure that traditional values, which are compatible with public policy and national progress, are adopted and developed as an integral part of the growing needs of Liberian society.[17] Despite this, successive Liberian governments have done little to fulfill the aspiration of Article 5. Recent evidence of this was the widely criticised sale of the National Culture Centre to American businessman RL Johnson, who converted it into a resort. After the sale of the centre, Johnson donated $100 000 towards the reconstruction of a new cultural centre. However, since the sale more than a decade ago, the government has not build a new centre, or renovated the Behsao Culture Village.[18]

“Not that the culture department has not tried; we have, but cannot do much when the cultural department has been underfunded. We have plans to rescue some of these neglected tangible cultural heritage pieces, but we cannot do anything in the absence of money,” the director of culture, Gweh, said.[19]

Liberia National Cultural Union president Kekura Kamara adds, “I still don’t understand why the promotion and preservation of cultural heritage is not a priority in this country. It is a sad situation, but that’s the reality. We are a very unique group of people who must care for our cultural heritage, which will not only be a source of revenue, but pride.”[20]

Resources and citations:

[1] Best, KY. Cultural Policy in Liberia. UNESCO Press, 1974: https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000009047.
[2] Wikipedia. 'Cultural Policy': https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_policy.
[3] Dopoe, R. 'In Liberia, Cultural Heritage Is Not A Priority' in The Liberian Observer (2018): https://www.liberianobserver.com/lib-life/in-liberia-cultural-heritage-is-not-a-priority/.
[4], [5], [6], [7], [8], [9] Best, KY. Cultural Policy in Liberia. UNESCO Press, 1974: https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000009047.
[10] The National Museum of Liberia. UNESCO Press, 1982: https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000054808.
[11] & [12] Best, KY. Cultural Policy in Liberia. UNESCO Press, 1974: https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000009047
[13] Yates, DA.'Renovated, Restored, Reopened: Fresh Start for Liberia’s National Museum' in The Liberian Observer (2017): https://www.liberianobserver.com/news/renovated-restored-reopened-fresh-start-for-liberias-national-museum/.
[14], [15], [16] Best, KY. Cultural Policy in Liberia. UNESCO Press, 1974: https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000009047
[17] Dopoe, R. “In Liberia, Cultural Heritage Is Not A Priority” in The Liberian Observer (2018): https://www.liberianobserver.com/lib-life/in-liberia-cultural-heritage-is-not-a-priority/
[18] The Liberian Observer. “Make Behsao Liberia’s Culture Village” (2015): https://www.liberianobserver.com/lib-life/make-behsao-liberias-national-culture-village/.
[19] & [20] Dopoe, R. 'In Liberia, Cultural Heritage Is Not A Priority' in The Liberian Observer (2018): https://www.liberianobserver.com/lib-life/in-liberia-cultural-heritage-is-not-a-priority/.

Disclaimer: Music In Africa's Overviews provide broad information about the music scenes in African countries. Music In Africa understands that the information in some of these texts could become outdated with time. If you would like to provide updated information or corrections to any of our Overview texts, please contact us at info@musicinafrica.net(link sends e-mail).

Editing by David Cornwell