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116
Meschac Gaba, Museum of Contemporary African Art in Berlin, 2014

Chapter: Map of Utopia - History, Cartography, Worlds Design

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A museum without walls
In 1997, while studying at the Rijksakademie van beeldende kunsten in Amsterdam, Gaba opened his Museum of Contemporary African Art. He had come to Europe for the first time on a scholarship from Benin. “My museum has no walls,” he said. “It’s not a model… it’s only a question.” And that questions were: Why is there no museum dedicated to contemporary African art in either Africa or Europe? Why is contemporary African art largely absent from the Western art world?

Fictional and nomadic
Beyond the lack of funding and institutional opportunities, Gaba’s project also functions as a critique of rigid, Eurocentric institutions rooted in colonial history. He developed a new model: a museum that is both fictional and nomadic, continuously expanding. It can be established anywhere in the world and presented in constantly changing spaces in diverse locations, such as at documenta 11 (2002) in Kassel.

Participatory Gesamtkunstwerk
Between 1997 and 2002, the Museum of Contemporary African Art traveled around the world. During this period, the installation grew into a “Gesamtkunstwerk” comprising twelve rooms or sections, some of which resemble conventional museum structures, such as the obligatory museum shop. But this museum also requires active participation. In the “Architecture Room,” visitors can design their own museum buildings using wooden construction blocks. Standard museum spaces such as the shop, restaurant, and library are reimagined to involve artists, who are invited to contribute objects and host dinners for visitors. In 2012, Tate acquired the entire installation, the largest acquisition the renowned London institution had made at that time.

Promise for the future
In 2016, seven of the twelve rooms were shown at Deutsche Bank KunstHalle in Berlin on loan from the Tate. As in every location where the Museum for Contemporary African Art has been presented, Gaba created a flag bearing the coat of arms of the host city. This flag is displayed in the exhibition as a reminder of a promise, the promise to create spaces where history can be rewritten and debated: spaces for a democratic future rather than for a romanticized or racist past.

Audio

Note: The audio transcription is voiced by an AI.

Meschac Gaba, Museum of Contemporary African Art in Berlin, 2014
Banner made of cotton, linen, coins
© VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2026
Sammlung Deutsche Bank

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