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In Dakar, the Théodore-Monod Museum reopened on May 18 after more than a year of closure linked to the Covid-19 pandemic. The museum has a rich collection of about 9,000 African works of art from about 20 countries. But it suffers from an outdated image, according to its curator. The long closure was therefore an opportunity to reflect on the improvement.
as reported from Dakar, Charlotte idrac
At the entrance, a very modern installation: a stack of boxes and packaging used to transport museum pieces. The curator of the Théodore-Monod Museum, El Hadji Malick Ndiaye, wanted to create a “shock”, a shift with the classic collections: “The impression that people have of this museum is an impression of an old-fashioned museum, only visited by tourists, which does not is modern. An old museum for its collections, but still new in its vision, he explains. All this work could be consolidated during the closure, so it is a positive side. “
Hence the creation of a website, works, a new scenography to illuminate statues, objects or fabrics …
Return works from Quai Branly
The museum exhibits certain pieces that have been lent for several years to the Quai Branly Museum in Paris. Like this Kanaga mask from Mali, “a face mask used in rituals”, which has become an emblem for the magazine Présence Africaine.
“These items have been returned since last year. This is the first time they have been exhibited, he emphasizes. This is not a refund, but a return. Yet it is truly symbolic of the speech of Amadou-Mahtar M’Bow in 1978: “A genius of a people finds one of its noblest incarnations in the cultural heritage that forms through the years. Centuries, the work of its architects, its sculptors, its painters, engravings or goldsmiths – by all creators of forms who have been able to give it a concrete expression in its manifold beauty and its uniqueness “. A tribute to that Amadou-Mahtar M’Bow, former Director-General of Unesco, Which has just celebrated its centenary. On June 7, 1978, he demanded that the cultural heritage be returned to those who created it.
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