Museum

The Institute's Museum is a treasure house as well as an invaluable visual library. Given this dual role, its aims have been broadly defined in terms of research, documentation, exhibition and preservation. The museum has permanent displays of well-conserved materials on aspects of Nigerian (especially Igbo) civilisation for students, researchers, tourists and the public. The material culture of a society reflects their level of civilisation at any point in time. The Institute’s museum is a collection of the Igbo material culture that shows how the Igbo people lived in their places over centuries. The collection of artefacts over the years focuses on providing insights into the society that created and used or are still using them – who they are, what they believed in and how they lived. The Igbo people and their artworks are mainly inspired by and are expressions of religious faith and practice. They are also an expression of politics and governance, such as artworks that constitute leadership paraphernalia of Igbo titled men and women of Ọzọ, Eze, Obi, Igwe, Lọlọ, among others.
The museum is equally rich in collections of neighbouring communities of the Igbo nation. Mrs Ukamaka Organ, the current museum curator, stated that they collect both historical and contemporary artefacts from cultural centres and significant sites in neighbouring cultures to preserve and regularly update the museum collection for the benefit of the public. After thorough evaluation, the museum also accepts individual artworks that were previously deemed unsuitable for household decoration.
The Institute holds regular open exhibitions, namely:

• “Transformations: An Exhibition of Twelve Contemporary Artists from the Nsukka Art School”, July 19, 2023 - March 01, 2024
• “My Heart Respect The Things You Have Made”, a solo exhibition by Chukwuemeka Vincent Okpara, March 19th - April 24th, 2024
• “Egwu na Mmụọ”, March – May, 2024 “Ntachi Obi: An Exhibition in Celebration of Hard Work, Patience, Tenacity and Success”, May 9 - August 31, 2024
• “Temporary Havens”, a solo exhibition of environmental art by Samuel Nnorom, July 18 - August 14, 2024
• “Folding and Tying Narratives ″, a solo exhibition by Sunday Ernest Nnamal, September 3 - October 18, 2024
• “Ife kwụlụ, Ife kwụdebe ya”, a solo exhibition of drawings and batik paintings by Chijioke Onuora, October 29 – December 12, 2024
• “Sacred Connection: A Journey Through Faith and Culture”, November 16 – December 21, 2024.

In addition to its permanent exhibitions curated around specific themes, the Institute welcomes individual art exhibitions that address relevant cultural topics or issues of current public interest.