Rebecca Njeri Gachihi

Biography

Rebecca Njeri Gachihi is an anthropologist with a special interest in indigenous knowledge, medical anthropology, forensic anthropology, traditional African religion, African art, material culture, museology, collection management and cultural heritage restitution. She has worked with the National Museums of Kenya for Seventeen years at different levels.  Currently she is serving as an Assistant Director Culture on secondment to the Ministry of Gender, Culture, The Arts and Heritage. Her main roles involve policy formulation and implementation especially on areas of intangible cultural heritage and traditional medical practice.

Between 2017 and 2021, Ms. Njeri was a member of the International Inventory Program that did Provenance Research that has assisted the country gain its first ever database of Kenyan cultural heritage held in institutions in the global North.

Previously, Njeri worked with the Natural Products Industry Department spearheading conservation of indigenous knowledge relating to herbal medicine, indigenous wild fruits and African indigenous vegetable. Njeri also served as a Public Programme Officer at the National Museums of Kenya focusing on audience development and stakeholder engagement at all levels of heritage management.

Previously she was Programme Manager at the Kenya Heritage Training Institute (KeHTI) within the National Museums of Kenya where in addition to conducting heritage training, she also brought together a Kenyan art group encouraging artists to exhibit internationally. In support of heritage training,  Njeri served as a Training Manager in the Getty East Africa Programme and played an integral role in coordinating training for Museum professionals in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania.

In 2012, Ms. Gachihi completed her Master’s degree programme in medical anthropology at the University of Nairobi.

At the British Museum
During her time on the International Training Programme in 2010, Njeri was based in the Department of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas and her partner placement was spent at Lincoln Museum. 

In 2010 participants were asked to develop a proposal for a small temporary exhibition – based on British Museum objects – on some aspect of their own cultures.  Njeri’s exhibition project proposal was entitled From Nature to Culture.

Legacy Projects
In November 2015 Njeri attended the ITP Mumbai Workshop Creating Museums of World Stories. The workshop was held at CSMVS and was attended by many ITP fellows from different years and countries, UK partners and British Museum Colleagues.

Njeri returned to the British Museum in 2016 in the role of Senior Fellow. She supported the ITP team in the build up to, during and after the Summer Programme, attended by 21 museum professionals from 13 countries.

Njeri is a member of the ITP Advisory Board.

ITP Newsletter Publications
ITP Newsletter Issue 3 (2016), Bulletin Board
ITP Newsletter Issue 3 (2016), How the ITP changed my life
ITP Newsletter Issue 3 (2016), Collections in focus: Siwa: the ceremonial horn
ITP Newsletter Issue 4 (2017), Bulletin Board