Volta Regional Museum

The Volta Regional Museum is a museum in Ho, Ghana. The museum is dedicated to the history and traditions of the Volta Region.^[1] The museum is administered by the Ghana Museums and Monuments Board.

Volta Regional Museum

Musée régional de la Volta
Location in Ghana
Established	1973 (1973)
Location	43 Glala Road, P. O. Box 43, Ho, Ghana
Coordinates	6°36′31″N 0°28′08″E / 6.608611°N 0.468889°E / 6.608611; 0.468889
Type	Ethnographic museum
Collections	Paintings, woodcraft, and potter,
Website	Official website

History

Before it was used as a museum, the building served as the Office of the Regional House of Chiefs.^[2] The building was sold to the government in 1967 and the museum was opened in 1973. In April 2014, the museum collaborated with Evangelical Presbyterian University College to hold the first memorial lecture to pay tribute to several contributors who have dedicated themselves to the study of the Ewe language, these contributors were Ghanaian doctors, Godfried Kportufe Agamah and Emmanuel Ablo, in addition to Professor Komla Amoaku, and the lecture also paid tribute to German Reverend Jakob Spieth.^[3] In 2018, Germany's ambassador to Ghana, Christoph Retzlaff, visited the museum and spoke about plans to rehabilitate sites in the Volta region.^[4] In 2021 renovations were completed to the museum which was partly financed by the German government who gave 25000 euros and Ghana Museums and Monuments Board who contributed 200000 Ghanaian cedi.^[5] The museum renovations lasted 3 years.^[6] On September 4, 2021, an event on tourism development in the region was organized by Tourism Aid Ghana at the museum.^[7]

Collections

Exhibits on display at the museum include the Chair of State of the last German colonial governor, woodcraft, pottery, Kente textiles, masks and Asante shrines.^[8] The museum contains exhibits on ethnography of the Volta Region as well as collections of handicrafts and contemporary art.^[9] The museum also has exhibits from when the region was part of German Togoland, as well as artifacts from when the British colonized the region and local culture.^[10] The museum has several collections of cultural artifacts including swords, stone relics, musical instruments such as drums, maps of the Ewe State, stools and earthenware cooking vessels.^[11] In addition, the museum contains paintings and sculptures by artists from the Volta region.^[12]

References

1. Lamptey, P. S. N. O. (2022-04-01). "Museums and Skeletons: prospects and challenges of cataloguing, storing and preserving human remains in the Museum of Archaeology, Ghana". Ethics, Medicine and Public Health. 21: 100753. doi:10.1016/j.jemep.2022.100753. ISSN 2352-5525. S2CID 246334869.
2. "Letsa commits to completing stalled projects". Modern Ghana. Retrieved 2022-05-23.
3. "EP university honours contributors to Ewe language". Graphic Online. Retrieved 2022-05-23.
4. "Volta Regional Museum To See Facelift". Modern Ghana. Retrieved 2022-05-23.
5. Simpson, Tony. "Refurbished Volta Regional Museum re-opens". Ghana News Agency. Retrieved 2022-03-08.
6. "Challenges at Ussher Fort Museum fixed, open to public". Graphic Online. Retrieved 2022-05-23.
7. "Tourism Aid Ghana Volta bloc successfully inaugurated in Ho". GhanaWeb. 2021-09-11. Retrieved 2022-05-23.
8. "Ghana Museums & Monuments Board". Ghana Museums and Monuments Board. Retrieved 2019-06-29.
9. Hudson, Kenneth; Nicholls, Ann (1985-06-18). The Directory of Museums & Living Displays. Springer. ISBN 978-1-349-07014-5.
10. Else, David (1999). West Africa. Lonely Planet Publications. ISBN 978-0-86442-569-0.
11. Dokosi, Michael (2016-08-28). "Ho Museum in bad shape, needs support from state and wealthy private citizens". Prime News Ghana. Retrieved 2022-03-08.
12. Ghana, an Official Handbook. Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. 1976.

External links

• Official website

 

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