ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the Bokoor African Popular Music Archives Foundation (BAPMAF) established by the author in Ghana in 1990. Whereas it seems quite sensible for African countries to preserve their traditional art, it is not so obvious that popular music needs the same attention, as it is current and ongoing. In fact, this non-government organisation (NGO) was the country's very first popular music archive, set up after almost twenty years of military rule that had resulted in the collapse of the local music industry, the demise of highlife music and a brain-drain of talented performers abroad. In 2007 as part of Ghana's 50th independence celebrations, BAPMAF curated the Ghana Music Exhibition held in October at the Greenwich Heritage Centre in London and organised by the African Image Alliance. In Ghana, there are various government-financed or supported bodies that deal in the preservation and dissemination of traditional musical instruments and performance.
