Field Trip: The Museum Of Black Civilization - Dakar Senegal

The Museum of Black Civilizations, known in French as the Musée des Civilisations noires (MCN), is a 150,000-square-foot, circular structure, modeled after the traditional houses of Senegal’s Casamance region. The opening of the museum is particularly timely given increased discussions about the repatriation of African artifacts looted during colonial times which are currently scattered across museums and private collections in Europe. 

We got there the day it opened to the public.

The underlying idea for the museum is to document and celebrate artifacts from global black civilizations. As such, the museum’s catalog is unlikely to be exclusively African. Indeed, the first temporary exhibitions at the museum will feature artworks from Cuba and Haiti.