Museum of Black Civilisations

The Museum of Black Civilisations is a national museum in Dakar, Senegal, that opened on 6 December 2018.

It is directed by Hamady Bocoum, an archaeologist and researcher at University Cheikh-Anta-Diop. The museum was conceived with the goal of highlighting "Africa's contribution to the world's cultural and scientific patrimony." According to Bocoum, it is particularly important to remember that "ironworking was discovered in Africa 2500 years before Christ."[1]

The museum was on the list of "ultramodern museums" compiled by Felwine Sarr and Bénédicte Savoy in their Rapport sur la restitution du patrimoine culturel africain. Vers une nouvelle éthique relationnelle (en: The Restitution of African Cultural Heritage: Toward a New Relational Ethics) submitted in November 2018 to the president of France.[2]

History

Opened in December 2018 it is the realisation of Léopold Sédar Senghor, Senegal's first President, vision to create a museum that would represent the histories and contemporary cultures of Black people everywhere.[3] The museum cost an estimated $30,000,000 to construct.[4] The museum has requested the repatriation of African artworks, given that up to 95 percent of Africa's cultural heritage is held outside Africa by major museums.[5] The Musée du quai Branly – Jacques Chirac in Paris, for example, holds 70,000 objects from Sub-Saharan Africa.[6]

The museum was recognised by Time as one of the "World's 100 Greatest Places of 2019".[7]

Collections

References
  1. "Le Sénégal souhaite la restitution de « toutes » ses œuvres d'art". Le Monde (in French). Internet Archive. Agence France-Presse. 28 November 2018. Archived from the original on 5 December 2019. Retrieved 13 February 2020.
  2. Sarr, Felwine; Savoy, Bénédicte (November 2018). Rapport sur la restitution du patrimoine culturel africain. Vers une nouvelle éthique relationnelle (PDF) (in French). Retrieved 13 February 2020.
  3. "Le Sénégal inaugure un Musée des civilisations noires à Dakar". Le Monde (in French). 5 December 2018. Retrieved 23 December 2018.
  4. "Senegal Unveils a Vast Museum That Raises the Stakes in Africa's Campaign to Reclaim Its Art". artnet News. 7 December 2018. Retrieved 23 December 2018.
  5. Searcey, Dionne; Nayeri, Farah (15 January 2019). "Senegal's Museum of Black Civilizations Welcomes Some Treasures Home". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  6. Nayeri, Farah (21 November 2018). "Museums in France Should Return African Treasures, Report Says". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  7. "Museum of Black Civilizations: The World's 100 Greatest Places of 2019". Time. Retrieved 23 August 2019.

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