In an original visual dialogue, the Africa Reborn exhibition showcases and contrasts over 150 contemporary art works from all generations and of all origins, in order to decipher the relationship between the contemporary scene and ancient African arts since the end of the 20th century. 

How do African arts, known today as “classic”, remain present and active in today’ artistic creation? For the critic and art historian Philippe Dagen, the exhibition curator, it is because they show that the ideas and forms particular to these arts are more alive than ever today, whereas forty years ago, an exhibition such as Primitivism at the Museum of Modern Art in New York reduced them to the role of visual models for the western avant-gardes of the first half of the 20th century, thus depriving them of their original stories and meanings, as only an interplay of beautiful exotic forms was seen in them.

Installations, paintings, sculptures, photographs, drawings and videos: through the great diversity of the artists and works presented, the Africa Reborn exhibition evokes the many ways in which these ancient references are revived in the creations of 34 contemporary artists. It includes new works by Annette Messager, Gloria Friedmann, Myriam Mihindou, Kader Attia, Pascale Marthine Tayou, Romuald Hazoumé, Théo Mercier and Emo de Medeiros, designed specifically for this exhibition.