This Lagos Museum Is Challenging The Traditional ‘Eurocentric’ Model
A new museum in Lagos is rewriting the rules of art curation by moving away from the traditional Eurocentric lens that has long dominated global museums. The recently opened John Randle Centre for Yoruba Culture and History, located in the heart of Lagos Island, is leading this shift by placing African stories, voices, and aesthetics at the center of its exhibitions. Unlike many Western institutions that often showcase African artifacts in isolation or as relics of a bygone era, the John Randle Centre presents Yoruba culture as a living, evolving force. From multimedia installations to immersive storytelling, the museum blends tradition with technology to tell the Yoruba people’s history from their own perspective — vibrant, dynamic, and unapologetically local. Curators at the museum have taken a bold approach, collaborating with historians, artists, and community members to build exhibits that reflect Yoruba identity beyond colonial narratives. Items on display are not only historical artifacts but also contemporary pieces that explore themes of heritage, spirituality, fashion, and resistance. By redefining how African culture is presented, the Lagos-based museum is not only preserving history but also reclaiming it. In doing so, it challenges the global art world to reconsider whose stories are told — and how they are told — within the walls of museums.
