Muse Des Covilisations Noire, Dakar Region, Senegal

5Balcha M 5:00 PM Apr 12, 2022

An excellent educational and culturally-rich museum in Dakar
The Musee des civilisations noires in Dakar is a great place to visit. The museum is a modern building opened in 2017, in a sprawling compound adjacent to the new national theater building. It is a very well lit multi-storey space that has exhibits on multiple floors. However the third floor was not yet open at the time of my visit. On the ground floor, the museum has a space dedicated to the various women leaders Africa has had over the past few centuries, including contemporary ones, with further details to be accessed on the museum website through QR codes pasted on each leader’s picture. The ground floor also has a permanent exhibit on the origin and evolution of man, with well-labelled and clearly described displays (including artifacts, photos and infographics) of the various archeological treasures from various parts of Africa, Africa’s relevance in the evolution of mankind, a few photos of cave art from various African countries, and Africa’s early contributions to science, mathematics and architecture. There is a large space dedicated to African masks and terra-cotta figurines, with a very well curated but limited collection from various countries, displayed thematically based on the social function of masks and head-dresses. The day I visited was the 3rd day of a 1-month exhibition commemorating 50 years since the first Picasso show held in Dakar. There are a few Picasso originals on display but most of it was the retrospective of the show from 50 years ago. The exhibition links African traditional art and masks as sources of inspiration for Picasso’s cubist paintings. This was two hours well-spent in a modern, dignified, culturally rich and highly educational museum. While I highly applaud the museum's high quality content, I think that, in order to live up to its name, the museum should include more diversity and depth in its displays from across all parts of Africa. I wish there were books, posters and other offerings on sale at the museum. Will definitely look forward to future visits!

4MistaPoupou 5:00 PM Sep 12, 2019

Will be great once all the floors are open.
The building is beautiful and the art that is already present is very interesting. When it comes to the practical side of the museum however, there is no ticket booth that is part of the museum. Instead you have to get tickets from a little temporary booth-type thing. Credit cards are not accepted and if you arrive in the morning they won't have any change, so come prepared. Inside the museum, I wish they had air circulation. With such a large building, it is certainly unnecessary to cool the whole place, but having some ventilation would make the visit more enjoyable.