Ogechukwu Elizabeth Okpalanozie

Biography

Ogechukwu Elizabeth Okpalanozie is a museum professional and heritage specialist based at the National Museum, Lagos, Nigeria, with expertise in collections care, preventive conservation, and community-centered museum practice. She holds a Master of Arts in Heritage and Interpretation from the University of Leicester, United Kingdom, and a Postgraduate Diploma in Museology from the Institute of Archaeology and Museum Studies, Jos.

At the National Museum, Lagos, Okpalanozie leads initiatives in preventive conservation, collections management, and the ethical stewardship of cultural heritage. Her work integrates indigenous knowledge into conservation, interpretation, and exhibition practices through sustained collaboration with local communities. She conducts condition assessments, supports conservation treatments, and promotes professional standards aligned with the International Council of Museums (ICOM) Code of Ethics, with a particular focus on cultural rights, shared stewardship, and socially responsive museum practice.

Okpalanozie has participated in numerous national and international conferences, workshops, and professional training programmes. She is a member of the International Council of Museums (ICOM) and the Commonwealth Association of Museums. Her project experience includes the Community Engagement Project: Conservation of Leather Objects with Indigenous Methods (2026), Reimagining Nigerian Alternative Heritage Exhibition (2026), Unfading Assets of Cultural Patrimony at the National Museum, Lagos (2022), African Lace Exhibition (2011), and the Kingdom of Ife exhibition at the British Museum, London (2010).

Her current research and curatorial practice focus on developing conservation-driven exhibitions that reinterpret museum collections through a decolonial lens. Centered on carved wooden objects, her work combines preventive conservation with critical analysis of object histories and museum documentation while collaborating with community stakeholders to integrate indigenous knowledge into conservation and display. Through this approach, she advances conservation as an ethical and interpretive practice that promotes inclusive narratives, cultural continuity, and institutional transformation.

Ogechukwu Elizabeth Okpalanozie, Assistant Director (Conservation) at The National Commission for Museums and Monuments, National Museum, Lagos, Nigeria, has been awarded by Simon & Catriona Mordant (Australia / Italy), and the Saastamoinen Foundation (Helsinki, Finland).