The Henriette-Bathily Women's Museum (in French: ''Musée de la Femme Henriette-Bathily'') is a

museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make these ...

which was located on

Gorée (; "Gorée Island"; Wolof: Beer Dun) is one of the 19 (i.e. districts) of the city of Dakar, Senegal. It is an island located at sea from the main harbour of Dakar (), famous as a destination for people interested in the Atlantic slave trade ...

, an island on the coast of

Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 � ...

, across from the

House of Slaves The House of Slaves (''Maison des Esclaves'') and its Door of No Return is a museum and memorial to the victims of the Atlantic slave trade on Gorée Island, 3 km off the coast of the city of Dakar, Senegal. Its museum, which was opened in 19 ...

museum. In May 2015, it moved to Dakar, at the Place du Souvenir Africain et de la Diaspora (Corniche Ouest). A project conceived in 1987 by the filmmaker Ousmane William Mbaye, it was opened in 1994 under the direction of Annette Mbaye d'Erneville.

Collections

There were two levels within this colonial residence, built in 1777 during the

French colonial French colonial architecture includes several styles of architecture used by the French during colonization. Many former French colonies, especially those in Southeast Asia, have previously been reluctant to promote their colonial architecture ...

period, having belonged to a wealthy

signare Signares were the Mulatto French-African women of the island of Gorée and the city of Saint-Louis in French Senegal during the 18th and 19th centuries. These women of color managed to gain some individual assets, status, and power in the hi ...

Victoria Albis Victoria Albis (d. ''after'' 1777), was a Senegalese signara. Gorée: the island and the Historical Museum. Abdoulaye Camara, Institut fondamental d'Afrique noire Cheikh Anta Diop, Joseph-Roger de Benoist, Musée historique du Sénégal.IFAN-Cheik ...

. Until 1962, it was the property of the Angrand family, notably

Armand-Pierre Angrand Armand Pierre Angrand (9 October 1892 – 29 August 1964) was a Senegalese politician, nobleman and writer and mayor of Gorée and Dakar in 1934. Son of Leopold Angrand (1859–1906), descendant of a prominent Métis Signares Goree. Grand son of P ...

, a descendant of the signare, writer, a mayor of Gorée and the first mayor of colour of

Dakar Dakar ( ; ; wo, Ndakaaru) (from daqaar ''tamarind''), is the capital and largest city of Senegal. The city of Dakar proper has a population of 1,030,594, whereas the population of the Dakar metropolitan area is estimated at 3.94 million in 2 ...

in 1936. Museum exhibits include common objects from the colonial period, farming tools, musical instruments, pottery, basketry, as well as photographs allowing a better understanding of the daily life of women in the country. The prominent figures of Senegalese women's emancipation are celebrated, for example the novelist

Aminata Sow Fall Aminata Sow Fall (born 27 April 1941) is a Senegalese-born author. While her native language is Wolof, her books are written in French. She is considered "the first published woman novelist from francophone Black Africa". Margaret Busby, '' Daug ...

. The building was also previously a

courthouse A courthouse or court house is a building that is home to a local court of law and often the regional county government as well, although this is not the case in some larger cities. The term is common in North America. In most other English-spe ...

, then the Museum of the

Institut fondamental d'Afrique noire IFAN (I.F.A.N., Institut fondamental d'Afrique noire or Fundamental Institute of Black Africa Sub-Saharan Africa is, geographically, the area and regions of the continent of Africa that lies south of the Sahara. These include West Africa, ...

which was succeeded in 1966 by Institut Français d'Afrique Noire.

Activities

Workshops were organized there and women of the island gather there to work together, to follow literacy courses, or to receive artisanal training (cloth

dyeing Dyeing is the application of dyes or pigments on textile materials such as fibers, yarns, and fabrics with the goal of achieving color with desired color fastness. Dyeing is normally done in a special solution containing dyes and particular ...

batik Batik is an Indonesian technique of wax-resist dyeing applied to the whole cloth. This technique originated from the island of Java, Indonesia. Batik is made either by drawing dots and lines of the resist with a spouted tool called a ''ca ...

weaving Weaving is a method of textile production in which two distinct sets of yarns or threads are interlaced at right angles to form a fabric or cloth. Other methods are knitting, crocheting, felting, and braiding or plaiting. The longitudinal th ...

glass painting Painted glass refers to two different techniques of decorating glass, both more precisely known by other terms. Firstly, and more correctly, it means enamelled glass, normally relatively small vessels which have been painted with preparations of ...

, or traditional

embroidery Embroidery is the craft of decorating fabric or other materials using a needle to apply thread or yarn. Embroidery may also incorporate other materials such as pearls, beads, quills, and sequins. In modern days, embroidery is usually seen on c ...

). Specific projects are aimed at

disabled Disability is the experience of any condition that makes it more difficult for a person to do certain activities or have equitable access within a given society. Disabilities may be cognitive, developmental, intellectual, mental, physical, se ...

women.

Other facilities

The museum has a number of facilities in addition to the artifact displays. It includes an audiovisual room; a boutique; a garden cafe, and an "Espace Culturel et Artisanat" (cultural and artisan space) enabling groups of women from all regions and ethnic backgrounds of Senegal to work at the museum and demonstrate their wide knowledge to visitors. It also provides women with education and training in literacy, civil education, environmental conservation and health education provides training in handicraft techniques. There is a documentation and specialized library service to provide a public databank and research centre.

References

Bibliography

*Annette Mbaye d'Erneville, Le musée de la Femme Henriette-Bathily à Gorée : premier musée privé au Sénégal, p. 1; The Henriette Bathily Museum of Women's History, Gorée: the first private museum in Senegal, p. 5, ''Bulletin du WAMP'' (West African Museums Programme), n° 7, 1997. *Jean Luc Angrand, ''Céleste ou le temps des Signares'' (Editions Anne Pépin, 2006).

External links

Official websiteMusée Henriette Bathily: Le défi de la visibilité
(article in '' Le Quotidien'', 8 June 2006)
Musée de la Femme Henriette Bathily. Un projet d'insertion pour les femmes défavorisées
(article of Karo Diagne in ''

Le Soleil Le Soleil ("The Sun") is the name of several newspapers: * ''Le Soleil'' (Quebec), a French-language daily newspaper in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada, founded in 1896 * ''Le Soleil'' (French newspaper), a defunct daily newspaper based in Paris fro ...

'')
Rencontre des femmes écrivains à Gorée: Aminata Sow Fall donnée en exemple à la nouvelle génération
(article of Idrissa Sane in ''

Le Soleil (Senegal) ''Le Soleil'' is a daily newspaper published in Dakar, Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''R� ...