The Willis Bell Archive
The Willis Bell Archive is a remarkable collection of over 40,000 black and white photographs that capture the essence of life in Ghana from the late 1950s to the 1970s. These images, taken by American photographer Willis Bell, provide a comprehensive historical and social record of the era, showcasing themes such as children's play, daily life, ceremonies, festivals, architecture, agriculture, and industry.
Early Life and Career
Willis Bell's journey into photography began during his early years in Asia, where he was educated at Woodstock School in India. His passion for photography was sparked there, leading him to serve in the Merchant Navy and later earn a college degree. After traveling and working globally, Bell settled in Ghana in the 1950s, where he became a prominent professional photographer. His work is noted for its historical and cultural significance, appealing to diverse audiences.
Contributions and Collaborations
Bell collaborated with Efua Sutherland on several publications, including "Playtime in Africa" (1960) and "The Roadmakers" (1962). Beyond photography, he was interested in farming, building design, publishing, and the cultural initiatives of the Mmofra Foundation. Bell passed away in 1999, bequeathing his photographic collection to the Foundation.
Preservation and Impact
Mmofra Foundation has created a digital repository containing nearly 40,000 digitized negatives and original prints from the Willis Bell Archive, in partnership with Michigan State University’s MATRIX: Center for Digital Humanities and Social Science. This project has been supported by grants from UCLA's Modern Endangered Archives Program, as well as the United States National Endowment for the Humanities.
This digitization effort makes Willis Bell’s archive accessible to global audiences for the first time, contributing significantly to the cultural studies of Western Africa and global photographic histories of the 20th century.
Legacy
Bell's archive is unique, representing an important period in Ghanaian history and cultural heritage. It documents political figures, events, and the processes of modernization and industrialization in Ghana during the post-colonial period. His work challenges prevalent ideas about the role of Western photographers in Africa during the 20th century and is crucial for research on local and global photographic practices.
Future Phases
The Willis Bell Photographic Archive is continuing the work of preserving Ghana’s visual heritage and developing conservation practice in West Africa. Future phases of the project include:
Conservation: stabilizing the archive storage environment to protect fragile negatives and prints.
Capacity Building: contributing to visual culture practice in Ghana through conservation workshops, public discussions, and other modes of insight sharing.
Community Engagement: Sharing images from the archive with communities represented in the collection, and engaging with subject matter experts to enrich our metadata.
Image Licensing: Supporting usage requests for publication, exhibition, research, and more.
Publication: Creating new publications and products based on images from the Archive.
Your support ensures the future of the Archive! Any gift, big or small, will have a direct impact on our ongoing conservation efforts. Visit our donation page to learn how you can contribute to the Willis Bell Archive through our fiscal sponsor, FJC!
