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National Museum of African Art

This museum's collections include 9,000 works of traditional and contemporary African art from both Sub-Saharan and North Africa, 300,000 photographs, and 50,000 library volumes.

National Museum of African Art

The National Museum of African Art is a Smithsonian Institution museum located in Washington, D.C. It was founded in 1964 by Warren M. Robbins, who began collecting African art in the 1950s. The museum's collection includes over 12,000 objects from various cultures and countries in Africa, including ancient and contemporary art.


One of the museum's current exhibits is "African Cosmos: Stellar Arts," which explores the ways in which different African cultures have understood and represented the cosmos in art. The exhibit includes a variety of objects such as masks, statues, and textiles, and highlights the important role that astronomy has played in African cultures throughout history.


The museum also has a variety of educational programs and resources for visitors, including tours, lectures, and workshops.


Some cool facts about the National Museum of African Art include:

  • It is the only national museum in the United States dedicated to the collection, conservation, study, and exhibition of African art.

  • The museum's collection includes objects from over 50 different African countries.

  • The museum's building was designed by the architect Jean-Paul Carlhian and is inspired by the traditional mud-and-straw architecture of West Africa.

  • The museum has a library and archives that are open to researchers, with a collection of over 50,000 books, periodicals, and other materials related to African art and culture.

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