MAAWOCU - Key Persons

Job Titles:

• Executive Director
• Founder

Vira Lynn Jones was inspired to create an African cultural museum in 2002 when she began to think about the future of the 300 African artifacts housed in two storage facilities. Since Vira's relatives did not share her passion for African artifacts, she began to explore estate planning options. Vira decided to donate her collection to create an African art museum. She decided to rename the cultural institution from the Bedford Stuyvesant Museum of African Art (BSMAA) to the Museum of African Art & World Cultures (MAAWOCU). Vira is confident that MAAWOCU will fill a void in a vibrant and creative community that lacks a cultural institution. Vira was born and raised in Charleston, West Virginia. After graduating with a B.S. degree in journalism from Ohio University, she joined the Peace Corps and served in Ghana, West Africa. She was a high school English teacher for two years. Vira traveled extensively in the Ivory Coast, Mali, Burkina Faso, and Togo during her two years in Ghana. After returning to the U.S., the United Nations recruited her to teach in the People's Republic of China. Following her two-year teaching opportunity in China, Vira moved to New York and graduated with a master's degree in journalism from Columbia University. She has also traveled extensively in Cuba, Germany, France, Cameroon, South Africa, and Nigeria.