As part of the Saison Africa2020 programme, the museum invited artist Kemi Bassene to produce a work based on photographic and audiovisual archives it conserves.

Entitled The African Shed Laboratory, Kemi Bassene’s project seeks to show that museum archives are not just the relics of a body of works in African culture but a dynamic force of artistic creation and recreation. Cross-referencing and continuity between music and the visual arts, as well as relations between art and politics, are also issues that form the basis of his work, as well as that of the museum’s new section on contemporary Africa.

How can lasting works be made that underline the relation and sense of belonging between native cultures, museum collections and the public? This installation, on display from 6 April to 18 July 2021, goes beyond questions about the past and attempts to make a mark on the future, opening up an educational dialogue.