The Museum of Black Civilisations is a national museum in

Dakar Dakar ( ; ; wo, Ndakaaru) (from daqaar ''tamarind''), is the capital and largest city of Senegal. The city of Dakar proper has a population of 1,030,594, whereas the population of the Dakar metropolitan area is estimated at 3.94 million in 2 ...

Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 � ...

, that opened on 6 December 2018. It is directed by Hamady Bocoum, an archaeologist and researcher at Cheikh-Anta-Diop University. 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." The museum was on the list of "ultramodern museums" compiled by

Felwine Sarr Felwine Sarr (born 11 September 1972) is a Senegalese academic, musician and writer of novels and cultural essays, born in Sine Saloum, Niodior Arrondissement. He studied economics and taught this subject at the Gaston Berger University (Seneg ...

and

Bénédicte Savoy Bénédicte Savoy (french: Bénédicte Savoy , born 22 May 1972 in Paris) is a French art historian, specialising in the critical enquiry of the provenance of works of art, including looted art and other forms of illegally acquired cultural objec ...

in their

report on the restitution of African cultural heritage ''The Restitution of African Cultural Heritage. Toward a New Relational Ethics'' (in French: ''Rapport sur la restitution du patrimoine culturel africain. Vers une nouvelle éthique relationnelle'') is a report written by Senegalese academic and ...

''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 France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

History

Opened on 6 December 2018, it is the realisation of the vision of

Léopold Sédar Senghor Léopold Sédar Senghor (; ; 9 October 1906 – 20 December 2001) was a Senegalese poet, politician and cultural theorist who was the first president of Senegal (1960–80). Ideologically an African socialist, he was the major theoretician o ...

, Senegal's first President, to create a museum that would represent the histories and contemporary cultures of

Black people Black is a racialized classification of people, usually a political and skin color-based category for specific populations with a mid to dark brown complexion. Not all people considered "black" have dark skin; in certain countries, often in s ...

everywhere. The museum cost an estimated $30,000,000 to construct. 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. The Musée du quai Branly – Jacques Chirac in Paris, for example, holds 70,000 objects from

Sub-Saharan Africa Sub-Saharan Africa is, geographically, the area and regions of the continent of Africa that lies south of the Sahara. These include West Africa, East Africa, Central Africa, and Southern Africa. Geopolitically, in addition to the List of sov ...

. The museum was recognised by ''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...

'' magazine as one of the "World's 100 Greatest Places of 2019".

Collections

File:Armure du chasseur Dogon.jpg, Armor of

Dogon Dogon may refer to: *Dogon people, an ethnic group living in the central plateau region of Mali, in West Africa *Dogon languages, a small, close-knit language family spoken by the Dogon people of Mali *''Dogon A.D.'', an album by saxophonist Julius ...

hunter File:Babouches Serigne Babacar Sy 4238.jpg, Serigne Babacar Sy's

babouche Babouche is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Réda Babouche (born 1979), Algerian footballer * Yacine Babouche (born 1978), Algerian footballer See also * Aïn Babouche, a town and commune in Oum El Bouaghi Province, Algeria ...

s File:Negrier de transport des esclaves.jpg, Sculpture of

Ovonramwen Ovonramwen Nogbaisi (ruled 1888–1897), also called Overami, was the Ọba (king) of the Kingdom of Benin up until the British punitive expedition of 1897. Born circa 1857, he was the son of Ọba Adọlọ. He took the name Ovọnramwẹn ...

being exiled

External links

Museum of Black Civilizations

References

Museums in Senegal Museums established in 2018 Museums of the African diaspora {{ethnographic-museum-stub