Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

The African Museum of Lyon, officially the African Museum of Cultures of West Africa, was founded in 1861 on the initiative of the Society of African Missions (SMA), under the leadership of Augustine Planque. As early as February 1861 Planque asked his missionaries to gather African objects (tools, weapons, local gods, utensils), aimed at creating an African discovery space for the Lyons. A first room was created in Saint-Foy-lès-Lyon, before the collection moved to the new premises of the SMA in 1870 on the Brushe course in Lyon.

The museum grew in the 1920s, extending over three rooms with objects accompanied by photographs and dioramas. From the 1970s, he moved from a missionary museum to an ethnological approach, with a museography rethought in 1977 and 2000. The collections, organized in three themes (daily life, social life, religious life), included 8,000 pieces, of which 2,126 were permanently exhibited over 750 m2. Each floor explored a specific aspect of West African cultures, from agricultural tools to ritual masks.

From 2012 to 2017, the museum was run by a secular association, the Association du Musée Africain de Lyon, whose mission is to promote intercultural dialogue through exhibitions, workshops and events. Despite its efforts to modernize its approach (temporary exhibitions on African contemporary art, collaborations with diasporas), the museum closed definitively on 27 November 2017, due to lack of funding and attendance. The space was then dedicated to the Carrefour des Cultures Africaines, keeping access to its library of 7,000 documents.

The collection reflected the diversity of West African practices and beliefs, while enlightening Franco-African colonial relations. The museum was distinguished by its commitment to diasporas, with exhibitions such as Vodou (2014), Pascale Marthine Tayou (2014-2015), or Ancestors in contemporary society (2021). He also offered guided tours, creative workshops for children, and lectures, affirming his role as a meeting and exchange space.

The origin of the museum is inseparable from the SMA and Augustin Planque, whose correspondence of 1861 reveals an early desire to document African cultures. The objects collected, ranging from weights to weighting Akan gold to Gèdè masks, showed the complex exchanges between Africa and Europe. After its closure, the museum left a documentary and heritage legacy, notably through publications such as Africa in resonance (2014), which analyse its collection and history.

Collection

Fermé ?

External links