Cover image: Musée du quai Branly and Eiffel Tower
© Entrée to Black Paris

The Musée du quai Branly Jacques Chirac celebrated its 20th anniversary this June.

I clearly remember visiting the museum a few weeks after it opened.  I was thoroughly fascinated by the enormous glass panels that enclosed the property as well as the architecture of the building and the grounds.

Main entrance - July 2006
© Entrée to Black Paris

Front façade - July 2006
© Entrée to Black Paris

Administration building - July 2006
© Entrée to Black Paris

Garden and ticket queue - July 2006
© Entrée to Black Paris

Rear façade and garden - July 2006
© Entrée to Black Paris

Over the years, Entrée to Black Paris has published eleven articles about the museum.  The 20th anniversary celebration inspired me to take a look back at them:

Beyond Anthropology

Four Black Women Featured at the Musée du quai Branly

Black Indians of New Orleans

Paul Robeson at the Musée du quai Branly

Picasso at the Musée du quai Branly - Jacques Chirac

L'Afrique des Routes - Exhibition at the Musée du quai Branly

The Color Line - Part 1

The Color Line - Part 2

The Color Line - Buzz

The Invention of the Savage - Exposition at the Musée du quai Branly

Paris' Human Zoos Exposed at the Musée du quai Branly

This fall, Musée du quai Branly has three exhibitions that feature Africa in some way.

Almighty God Art Works presents the work of Ghanaian artist and preacher Kwame Akoto. It has been mounted with the support of the Embassy of France and the Institut Français in Ghana, under the "Création Africa" initiative. 

Akoto preaches under the name Almighty God. His works blend moralizing slogans, spiritual messages and everyday scenes in a direct, explicit style. The exhibition explores his themes of preference and showcases the influences, meetings — especially with the artist Hervé Di Rosa — and beliefs that have shaped his unique artistic approach.

This exhibition runs through Sunday, September 6, 2026.  Read more and purchase tickets HERE.

 

1913 - 1923 : L'Esprit du Temps (1913-1923: Spirit of the Times) examines the activities of a select few art dealers and gallerists who, through their writing and their exhibitions, managed to convince their contemporaries of the universal value of African and Oceanic arts. Their commitment catalyzed a shift in the Western perception of works from these regions of the world, leading to them being considered as true art.

This exhibition runs through Sunday, September 20, 2026.  Read more and purchase your tickets HERE.

Le Mbari Club, un espace de création transnationale au Nigeria (The Mbari Club: A Space for Transnational Creation in Nigeria) will be on display in the Boîte Arts Graphiques (Graphic Arts Box) through October 11, 2026. This presentation showcases artworks, archives, and journals to illustrate the Pan-African artistic and intellectual exchanges of this Nigerian cultural club.

The Graphic Arts Box is an intimate, specialized cabinet located on the museum’s main permanent collection floor (Plateau des Collections). A small, enclosed alcove between the African and Americas sections of this floor, it was created to offer a quiet, focused viewing environment away from the main visitor pathways.  It is accessible when you publish a standard entry ticket to the museum.