National Museum of Cameroon, Yaoundé, Cameroon

Initially established in 1988 by the government of Cameroon, the National Museum has been opened for 10 years before it closed for renovation and reopened in 2015. The reopening coincided with several cultural activities which aimed to popularize African contemporary art. With art masterpieces and original artifacts the museum is also a platform for education as well as a learning institute. The collections of the museum are spread into several rooms and consist of archeological artefacts, traditional objects, paintings, photographic prints, sculptures, and patrimonial clothing. The gardens of the museum are another major attraction with sculptures from Bamum Kingdom and pictures of people who have contributed to the building of the country.

Museum of Bamum Art, Foumban, Cameroon

Foumban was the historic capital of the Bamum kingdom whose dynasty dates back from the 14th century. The city is one of Cameroon’s major attractions and an important centre of traditional African art. The Royal Palace of Foumban now houses a museum with a large collection of objects including royal gowns, thrones, statues, arms, masks, jewellery, and musical instruments. The Museum of Bamum Arts which is located near the Palace also contained an extensive collection of Bamum history and traditional art including cooking implements, musical instruments, masks, statues, and gongs. The road that connects the two museums is called “street of artisans” where people can buy art pieces from sculptors, craftsmen, and weavers. The city is undergoing the building of a new museum which shape will represent the symbols of the Bamum kingdom: the double headed snake, the spider, and the gong.

Museum of Modern Art, Malabo, Equatorial Guinea

The Museum of Modern Art earns a collection of traditional and contemporary artworks from across Africa, including pieces by some of the region’s well-known contemporary artists. The collection consists of paintings, sculptures, wood crafts, carved works, and textile works acquired on a regular basis. The museum assists young artists through educational projects and encourages an international awareness of the local artists. Over the years, the country has produced some important artists whose work has been exhibited worldwide, including the sculptor Leandro Mbomio Nsue who was known as the black Picasso for his unique creativity, the visual artist Placido Guimaraes, and younger artists such as Desiderio Manresa Bodipa and Ramón Esono Ebalé.

Chad National Museum, N’Djamena, Chad

The museum was established in 1962 in a temporary building under the name of Chad National Museum, Fort-Lamy, reflecting the earlier colonial name of the country’s capital. In 1964, it moved to a permanent place in the capital city with the collections organized in four different rooms containing: paleontological artifacts, archeological materials, ethnographical objects, archival documents, and traditional and folk art pieces. The historical objects are placed in plastic cases to protect them from dust and over-inquisitive people. The traditional objects are displayed using simple décor which throw them into relief, or surrounded by objects which evoke their usual setting. Many of the museum’s artifacts and exhibits have since been lost due to the instability in the country.

National Museum of Kinshasa, Kinshasa, DR Congo

The National Museum of Kinshasa was founded in 1970 on mount Ngaliema by the government in order to preserve a cultural and artistic heritage, partly plundered during independence. The museum has more than 45,000 objects collected across the country, which belonged to village communities. There are masks, statues, musical instruments, and artefacts from archeological excavations, to which are added nearly eight hundred hours of recording of tales, proverbs, and music. Only a part of the objects are exhibit in the main room while the rest is stored in a large hangar near the museum. Since the museum’s condition continues to deteriorate and his infrastructure is inadequate and not secure, the government decided to forge a partnership with South Korea to build a new museum.