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National Centre For Arts & Culture (NCAC), Gambia
 
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Contact Address Details:

(NCAC) National Centre For Arts & Culture
Website: www.ncac.gm

Banjul capital
Independence Drive
PO Box 151 Banjul
The Gambia, West Africa

Tel no: +220 4229730
                     4227461
                     4226244 (Gambia National Museum)

Fax:              4227461

Email: musmon@qanet.gm

Director: Mr. Joof

Jola kumpo dance mask Tanji Museum

 



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Information:
TheBanjul Museum on Independence Drive Gambia's National Centre For Arts and Culture is a semi independent cultural institution which was created in Banjul by an Act of the National Assembly in December 1989. This act was later replaced by the NCAC Act of 2003 which made the centre a guardian of the nation's cultural and historic heritage and charged it to conserve, promote and celebrate the country's artistic, cultural and historic inheritance.



The vision of the NCAC is to integrate The Gambia's national cultural assets into the essential fabric of governing the country and to integrate cultural heritage into its development planning for the economic wellbeing of its people in the long-term. These include the archiving, research and preservation of local ethnic languages, ancient & modern relics, monuments, indigenous technology, traditional recreation and sports as well as support and promotional activities.

Slave ship diagram Jufureh Museum Saint James Island

The governing body is made up of a board of 8 members who are chosen by the Minister of Tourism and Culture who also happens to be the supreme decision making public institution on all issues pertaining to the arts and culture.

Katchikally Crocodile Pool & Museum Cenataph in Banjul



NCAC Functions:
• Provide advisory to the Minister of Tourism.

• Promote the arts & culture in all regions.

• To carry out, supervise, plan and assess artistic & cultural programmes.

• To encourage cultural & artistic alliances locally & internationally.

• Promote, at grassroots level, the prominence of groups & bodies focused on the promotion of arts and culture.

• Preside over  the workings of the various committees.

• Probe & report on cultural & artistic issues pertaining to  documentation, information gathering & sorting, distribution, retrieval, archiving & research.

• Provide equipment, manage and conserve the National Museums.

• Create, equip, maintain & manage new museums as necessary.

• To conserve, mend or restore any ethnographical pieces which it assesses to be of national significance.

• If necessitates, investigate & issue findings to the Minister on any ethnographical objects.

• Maintain & update a register of all ethnographical articles it receives or which it is notified of.

• Document all monuments whose designation as National Monuments it considers justified; determine their rightful owners, before recommending to the Minister to declare them as National Monuments.

• Carry out all necessary duties associated with the research and development of arts and culture in The Gambia.



NCAC Organisational Structure:
• The Office of The Director.
• The Directorate of Literature Performing and Fine Arts.
• The Directorate of Cultural Heritage.
• The Directorate of Copyright.

The Office of the Director General - (ODG)
It acts as the NCAC's management & financial unit. Its various functions are to create budgets and project ideas for the centre, supervise and assess the activities and projects of the various technical departments, make information available to the board, carry out PR, monitor daily activities and evaluate policies pertinent to the NCAC and arts and culture generally.

Directorate of Literature Performing and Fine Arts - DLPFA
This unit promotes, preserves and develops the Gambia's culture regionally and overseas. Its various functions are the following:

• Financial & technical support for large events organised by cultural troupes & artists.

• The establishment of national drama, music and dance troupes.

• Registration of cultural music / dance groups & artists (visual & plastic arts).

• Production of a nationwide catalogue of registered artists & cultural dance groups.

• Promote & help community, village & regional cultural events.

• Participating in the International Roots Festival.

• Promoting Gambian literary works & authors.

• Organise workshops.



Directorate of Cultural Heritage (DCH) is comprised of 2 divisions which are:
• Monuments & Museums Division - (MMD)
This division of the NCAC is in charge of physical cultural heritage both fixed and movable. Its functions are to collect historical artefacts, arrange public exhibitions, conduct research at newly emerged archaeological sites, manage museums both in Banjul & in the regions. Furthermore, the unit can make declarations, assessments, evaluations, preservation and promotion of The Gambia's national monuments and sites of historical and cultural importance, organise appeal campaigns in relation to physical and non-material historic items.

• Research and Documentation Division - RDD
This unit is responsible for collecting, processing and distributing cultural information on all relevant details of the collected material and non-material heritage. They stock in excess of five thousand audio recordings on the history of The Gambia as well as traditions, family genealogies, folklore, music, songs, myths, legends, customs, rites  etc.

The division has a transcription & translation service, book reference library, sound archives, consultancy service unit, collaborative research section, issues research permits for social science work and gives lectures to school & college students and any other interested parties on request.



The Directorate of Copyright
A copyright commission, comprised of 22 members, was established on the 25th November 2009 and meets at the NCAC grounds in Banjul. It has the following functions:

• To provide consultation and give advisory to the Gambia Copyright Office on the registration and licensing of creative works in the form of literature, paintings, musical works as well as subsidiary works such as adaptations and language translations.

• To hold regular meetings to assess creative works filed with the Copyright Office for the issuance of a license. Such issuance is dependant on the work's originality which must be recorded in a book, CD, DVD or other tangible form among other criteria.

• To aid the Copyright Office in public education and awareness initiatives on various types of media outlets.

You can request information regarding copyright issues from the Director of Copyright at the National Museum complex on Independence Drive in Banjul.

Tel no: 4229730

Email: bayifana@yahoo.com

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