Reimagining Heritage, Archives and Museums: Today/Tomorrow
Client: Institut Français d'Afrique du Sud / French Institute of South Africa (IFAS)
Period: 2023-2024
Awards & events
Arts, culture & heritage
01 The sneak-peek
The museums we inherit, and the ones we'll need next
BBA Liminal project-managed Today/Tomorrow — an IFAS and Embassy of France convening that brought over 400 delegates and 95 speakers to Cape Town to reimagine the future of heritage, archives and museums, with a mentorship programme and follow-on meetings to carry the ideas forward.
02 The liminal moment
Museums and heritage spaces sit at a threshold of their own — between what they have long been, static repositories of artefacts, and what they could become: dynamic spaces for dialogue, discovery and creativity, able to anticipate and answer social need. The convening's very name, Today/Tomorrow, names that passage.
BBA Liminal was appointed project managers for Reimagining Heritage, Archives and Museums: Today/Tomorrow, an initiative of IFAS and the Embassy of France. The work ran in three parts: an international convening at Cape Town's Homecoming Centre from 13 to 15 February 2024; a parallel mentorship programme; and a series of professional meetings to take the ideas forward. Our remit spanned brand development, integrated marketing and communications, logistics and event management, and support for the curatorial process — holding a complex international undertaking together end to end.
03 The transformation
We let the name set the task. Today/Tomorrow calls everyone with a stake in heritage to bring their knowledge and imagination together, and reinvent how we think about the heritage landscape — shaping museums of tomorrow that can anticipate and adapt to social need, and help bring about social change.
We assembled a curatorial panel to match. With IFAS, we invited Molemo Moiloa (Open Restitution Africa and Andani.Africa), Ngaire Blankenberg (founder of the Institute for Creative Repair) and Emmanuel Kasarhérou (President of the Musée du quai Branly) to shape the programme — a panel carrying real weight in the global conversation on restitution and repair.
We grew the next generation. A tailor-made mentorship programme invited young graduates from South Africa, Lesotho and Malawi to learn alongside industry stalwarts and build a holistic understanding of the sector — so the convening grew people, not only ideas.
04 The craft
Where the museum met its tomorrow
Three days at the Homecoming Centre held more than 35 keynotes, panels, roundtables, workshops and performances. A d-school Afrika design-thinking workshop helped delegates picture heritage institutions as living spaces — even prototyping an AI museum facilitator. The opening filled the Whale Well at the Iziko South African Museum with uKhoiKhoi and Inka Kendzia's live visuals, alongside work by Gregory Maqoma, Diana Ferrus, Siphokazi Jonas and Lebo Mashile.
Social media
The showcase of cleverness
Over 400 delegates from across the world gathered to share insights, best practices, and innovative approaches to preserve and promote our rich cultural heritage, archives, and museums in the face of contemporary challenges.
The three-day convening presented over 35 keynote addresses, panel discussions, roundtables, workshops, demonstrations and performances from 95 speakers from across 13 continents. This included a performance lecture by poets Diana Ferrus and Siphokazi Jonas, an electrifying dance piece by Gregory Maqoma, and poetic interludes by MC Lebo Mashile. The opening event included a performance by uKhoiKhoi and a live visuals experience by Inka Kendzia inside the Whale Well at the Iziko South African National Museum.
Delegates were also given the opportunity to kick-off day one with a design thinking workshop led by the Hasso Plattner D-School Afrika (which is based at the University of Cape Town), to access the tools to reframe how they approach sticky problems. By placing themselves in the shoes of their users, delegates were able to envision heritage institutions not as static repositories of artefacts, but as dynamic spaces for dialogue, discovery, and creativity. One possible solution posed was an interactive AI Museum facilitator accessed through your mobile phone, which provides additional context for all exhibition items.
05 The validation of purpose
The convening did what it set out to do. Over 400 delegates and 95 speakers from 13 countries gathered across three days and more than 35 keynotes, panels, roundtables, workshops and performances. Through the d-school Afrika workshop, delegates began to picture heritage institutions as dynamic spaces for dialogue and discovery rather than static repositories. With a mentorship programme and follow-on professional meetings, the ideas were built to travel well beyond the room.
400 delegates
95 speakers, 13 countries
>35 sessions over 3 days
Naming
Brand & communications strategy
Facilitation & convening
Capacity building
Exhibition curation
Copywriting
Campaign design
Digital strategy
Event & convening design
Brand identity design
Long-term stewardship
Brand platform development
Positioning & narrative
