Conservation of bead objects, photos taken by Mahmoud Malik Saako
As part of the Ghana Museums and Monuments Board's collaboration with Exploring Visual Cultures (EVC), Mahmoud Malik Saako visited the University of Pretoria Conservation Lab for five days. The EVC textbook working group aims to broaden art education using museum objects among Ghanaian and German students. During my visit, he established a relationship with a conservation laboratory at the University for staff training and to learn best practices within the museum sector. At the conservation lab, Mahmoud Malik Saako met Professor Maggi, who is the head of the lab and a chemistry professor. They were conserving beads brought to them by a private museum and carrying out provenance research on some of the objects. The lab employs four permanent staff members specialized in different areas, although they carry out any kind of conservation on museum objects. Mahmoud Malik Saako participated in the bead conservation process and presented on the Ghana Museums and Monuments Board to the staff and students. The participants agreed that museum work is becoming more sophisticated, and there is a need for museum professionals to upgrade their skills to meet industry demands.