THE TRUST
The MOWAA Complex will be owned and operated by the EMOWAA Trust.
Its Board is composed primarily of professionals drawn from the legal, finance, arts and culture worlds, along with representation from the Edo State Government, and the National Commission for Museums and Monuments of Nigeria, as well as His Royal Highness the Crown Prince of Benin.
The Trust will operate to international governance standards and directors are responsible for ensuring the prudent oversight of financial affairs and accountability to donors.
MANAGEMENT
Executive Chairman
Director, MOWAA Pavilion
Director of Heritage Management
Senior Archaeological Advisor
Curator, Modern and Contemporary Art
His Royal Highness Crown Prince
Co-founder of Amaya Capital
Artist, writer, and photographer in Nigeria
Partner and co-founder, Verod Capital Management Limited
Representative, National Commission for Museums and Monuments
Lawyer, Managing Partner, Udo-Udoma and Belo-Osagie
Edo State Commissioner for Diasporan Affairs, Arts, Culture and Tourism
Secretary General, Federal Ministry of Culture and Media
Institution building is a collaborative effort. We need to think beyond the event of returned objects, to how we create programmes on West African culture and the Benin Kingdom which people can really connect to. We have to think about how to sustain this interaction, with the relevant skill sets, knowledge and opportunities. That’s what MOWAA is about. This is why we are here.
— Victor Ehikhamenor, Trustee
ADVISORY
MOWAA’s leadership will be guided by carefully composed technical advisory panels offering tailored counsel in curation, collections management, research and heritage management. Our Advisors represent relevant national and international organizations and institutions, charged with responsibility of providing technical and professional input, guidance, and support to the Trust in achieving its objectives.
This critical group will also be MOWAA’s champions in their host institutions, driving cross-border learning exchanges and capacity building. Experts are also drawn from the best crop of independent thought leaders and practitioners in relevant fields.
Director, Museum am Rothenbaum—World Cultures and Arts (MARKK) in Hamburg; co-founder, Benin Dialogue Group, and representative, Digital Benin project
British Academy Global Professor at the University of Oxford; Head of the Department of Archaeology, University of Cape Town
Curator, Department of Africa, Oceania and the Americas, the British Museum
Artist in Benin City
Director of Program in African Studies and Professor of African and African Art, Princeton University
Founder and Principal Director of ART X
Co-COO and CFO at the Whitney Museum of American Art
PARTNERSHIPS
Realizing MOWAA’s ambitions requires collaborations both within and outside of Nigeria, the Trust has focused on establishing successful and mutually beneficial partnerships with prestigious institutions.
