Planning a trip to visit museums in Africa? Every year on January 31, people celebrate Inspire Your Heart with Art Day. No one knows where the celebration came from. But it is a day that lets us think about how art affects our hearts. Interestingly, many museums in Africa combine different kinds of art. But how many people are willing to see them? Art has the power to move our hearts and make us different. Here are some of the best museums in Africa so that you can visit the next time you visit.
Best museums in Africa
1. National Museums of Kenya (Kenya)
This is one of the museums in Africa that has been around for a long time. It has been in business since 1910. But work on the site of the museum we see today began in 1929. It used to be called the Coryndon Museum after Sir Robert Coryndon, the Governor of Kenya at the time. The name was modified to the National Museums of Kenya when Kenya gained independence. The museum has some of the most famous collections of Kenyan art, culture, and natural history.
Visit the National Museums of Kenya website.
2. The National Bardo Museum (Tunisia)
The art museum in Africa shows art from all over the continent. It has things from 40,000 years ago, like the Herman of El Guettar, the first temple people built to honor the most powerful force in the sky. The museum is located in an old 19th Century Beylic palace. It has more mosaics than any other place in the world. Some treasures you can find inside are a gallery of Christian baptisteries, Roman sarcophagi, and a large collection of Punic jewels.
Visit the National Bardo Museum Tunis website.
3. Rwanda Art Museum (Rwanda)
The Institute of National Museums of Rwanda is made up of eight museums, and this is one of them. It has a collection of works by artists from all over the world. So, it shows how creative Rwandans are and how unique their ideas are. This museum shows how art in the country has changed over time, from the past to the present. Also, this museum has parts of the doomed presidential jet from 1994.
Visit the Rwanda Art museum website.
4. The Grand Egyptian Museum (Egypt)
The Grand Egyptian Museum has the largest collection in North Africa. It has over 100,000 artifacts, about 3,500 belonging to King Tutankhamun. The museum is near the Giza Pyramids and wants to keep the Pharaonic history and legacy alive. The Ministry of Culture held an international architectural competition in 2002. This is where the idea for the design of the museum came from. So, the museum gives people a chance to interact with each other.
Visit the Grand Egyptian Museum website.
5. The Pretoria Art Museum (South Africa)
On October 19, 1962, the first stone was put down for the Pretoria Art Museum. It was built at first to hold the City Hall’s growing art collection. At the time, it didn’t have many works by South African artists. The Pretoria Art Museum, on the other hand, didn’t want to be like other museums across the country.
The museum has recently paid more attention to how South African art has changed. This is art from the city, the country, and the past. Even though South African art is still the main focus, the museum buys sculptures and paintings by well-known international artists whenever possible.
Visit the Pretoria Art Museum website.
6. The Cameroon National Museum (Cameroon)
This museum has been around since the 1930s. But after the country gained independence, Ahmadou Ahidjo, the country’s first president, was added to the building. A prime ministerial order from 2014 made the building a museum for the first time. The museum has more than 850 pieces of history on display. The pieces in this collection come from all over the country.
7. Center for Memories, Enugu (Nigeria)
This is the biggest library for the Igbo people living in southeastern Nigeria. It has sculptures, paintings, and photos that show the group’s history and struggles. The museum puts on shows and adds new collections regularly. When you go to the website, you can also find out when interesting events are happening.
Visit the Center for Memories website.
Also read: Tourist attractions in Nigeria.
8. Zinsou Foundation Museum (Benin Republic)
This museum, which opened in November 2013, is in the Villa Ajavon. Before the museum, the Cotonou-based Fondation Zinsou set up an exhibition center. The paintings and sculptures in the museum come from three different periods. Many well-known painters, photographers, and sculptors have a room where their works are kept. There are also rooms for works by artists from all over the world.
Visit the Zinsou Foundation Museum website.
9. The Makumbusho Village Museum (Tanzania)
This is one of the country’s five most important museums. It shows houses built with tools from some of the country’s tribes. It’s easy to find because it’s right in the middle of Dar es Salaam. The Village Museum also has a group of paintings and photos in its archives. Visitors also get a lot of different things to remember their trip by.
Visit the Makumbusho Village Museum website.
10. Ghana Museum of Science and Technology (Ghana)
In 1965, the museum opened for the first time. But two professors from the Legon campus of the University of Ghana started it. Most of the visitors are young people. The amazing collections contain a piece of moon rock and a human mind. The museum has a library and puts on educational events for kids.
Visit the Ghana Museum of Science and Technology website.
