"Adwa" and the Oral Turn: Reimagining Museum and Archival Practices Beyond Visual Hegemony

While scholarship has explored the need to decolonize museum practices for over four decades, sight-based methodologies continue to be central to these institutions. Drawing on Nicholas Mirzoeff's analysis of “white sight,” this paper examines the risks associated with uncritically displaying colonial visual material in museum and archive practices, proposing an alternative methodology grounded in orality. Departing from Black feminist and the work of African scholars such as Tina Campt, Saidiya Hartman, and Amadou Hampâté Bâ, this approach emphasizes the power of oral traditions to challenge dominant narratives and counter ocular-centrism bias. Through the practical application, an oral museum interpretation titled Adwa, developed as part of my practice-based PhD research, this methodology demonstrates how storytelling fosters deeper connections between audiences and historical events, promoting a more compassionate understanding of the past. This paper intersects visual culture and postcolonial museum studies, advocating for a decolonized approach that positions museums and archives as agents of change and care.