The new Bët-bi Museum by atelier masōmī will continue a shift toward cultural justice in Senegal

2022-05-17T12:32:00-04:00

A historic new museum is set to take shape in West Africa, the vision of the Josef and Anni Albers Foundation and designer Mariam Kamara of Niger’s atelier masōmī.

Bët-bi is said to be the first institution dedicated to the (temporary) collection and display of repatriated objects taken from their native lands in a reversal of controversial practices which have been at the heart of many Western museum operations since their beginnings in Colonialism.

Image courtesy atelier masōmī

The studio beat out four other firms based in Africa for the commission, including Rwanda’s MASS Design Group and the Moroccan firm Aziza Chaouni Projects.

Located in the Kaolack region of southern Senegal, Bët-bi (or “The Eye” in Wolof) aims to position itself as an intermediary between Western art-collecting institutions and surrounding nations in addition to serving in its functional capacity as an educational fount to the area. In this regard, its mission and scope are similar to that of the planned Ed...

MoMA has received a generous gift of African contemporary art

2019-07-30T09:09:00-04:00

The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York has received a trove of 45 works of African contemporary art from the photographer and collector Jean Pigozzi.

The Italian photographer, Jean Pigozzi has what many regard as the largest collection of contemporary African art. He has now donated a total of 45 works to the Museum of Contemporary Art in New York which include sculptures by the acclaimed sculptor and artist Bodys Isek Kingelez.

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The new Bët-bi Museum by atelier masōmī will continue a shift toward cultural justice in Senegal

MoMA has received a generous gift of African contemporary art