Collections

A movement sprang up towards the end of the 19th century whose adherents were committed to ensuring the witnesses of the community’s past are not forgotten, neglected or destroyed. The founders launched an appeal in 1913 so as to give tangible shape to the plan to create a museum focused on Walloon ethnography and folklore. Their aim was to build up documentation illustrating all dimensions of life in Wallonia. They gathered together documents and objects relating to people, their traditions, their activities, their living environment, their ideas and thoughts. Old fashioned objects left forgotten in attics, sheds, pieces of furniture or workshops were used to create the first collections, provided they were used in Wallonia. They were generally inexpensive and common objects, even though some of them may be regarded as tiny gems of popular art. The initiative was first of all looked at askance by the general public, who called the establishment the musée dès vîs rahis’ (museum of old things) before deciding it was a must-visit venue.

The collection strategies subsequently involved a more systematic canvassing approach, so as to ensure all fields, territories and periods were covered. Although the museum did not set itself any time constraints, it did tend to overlook contemporary objects: those inhabiting our universe, speaking to the present about our daily lives, those placing our traditions in a broader context, not avoiding comparisons with other cultures. The search for objects and documents from the second half of the 20th century, required to update the new museum setting, shows just how wrong it is to wait until these testaments to the past are almost beyond recovery before taking an interest in and acquiring them. In contrast to certain preconceived notions, the idea of collecting recent objects is quite consistent with the principles of the founders: “a museum about the life of a community has to continue to develop rather than be regarded as an initiative that has been concluded. With each passing day we are making the past for the future”.

At the same time, the photographic, sound and cinema investigation service was responsible for building up abundant materials for analysing and studying Walloon society. Thanks to a network of correspondents established throughout Wallonia as a whole, the museum has been able to gather first-hand accounts applying to a wide variety of topics. The museum made a start in 1923 on showing ethnographic films to the general public. This non-tangible heritage has been expanded over the course of time, now offering an amazing and much-prized database. As it pursues this key investigatory task it is keen to guarantee the protection of the often fragile documents, providing smoother channels of communication with the public as a result of transfers to contemporary media.

In common with other museums of ethnography, the Museum of Walloon Life positions itself as a society-based museum; anxious for the human being to be the focus of the narrative. While continuing to consider the various dimensions affecting change in Wallonia, its population and economic, ideological or cultural activities the museum is open to any events relating to life, our multicultural society and is extending its scope to the final years of the 20th century. The collection policy is a testament to these new concerns: while celebrating the sources of our culture, the collection is open to several contemporary non-obsolete objects, along with any documents likely to stimulate our reflection and reflect our major debates about the ideas and challenges. The past and present human environment in Wallonia is now regarded from a broad anthropological perspective.