Iimagine the Élysée transformed into a museum, four times a week for six months, and queues of visitors waiting to enter the cenacle of power where, on returning to their native country, masterpieces of French heritage, taken of a lost war one hundred and thirty years ago. What is more, these historical objects sit side by side with the works of our greatest contemporary artists… Unthinkable? Seen from France, yes. This is however the news in Benin, a small highly cultural country in West Africa, located between Ghana and Nigeria. In Cotonou, the presidential palace of the Marina, completely renovated, opens its doors to Beninese who come to admire in crowds the 26 royal treasures returned to the country in November 2021 and the exhibition of contemporary art c…
Courtesy Ishola AKPO – musée du quai Branly – Jacques Chirac/photo Pauline Guyon – Cesar GABA/REA FOR “LE POINT” (x4) – musée du quai Branly/photo Patrick Gries – Courtesy Youss Atacora/Collection of the National Gallery – private collection – sp (x2)