Film: 'Palimpsest of The Africa Museum' - Watch Here

Director: Matthias De Groof

Documentary, 2019, 69 Min.

Time: October 16th - 31st

About:

In 1897, King Léopold II created the Royal Museum for Central Africa to showcase artifacts and natural specimens pillaged from Congo Free State. In 1910, the collection was moved into a lavish, iconic neoclassical palace, cementing the museum as a symbol of Western arrogance. Now, more than a century later, the building and spirit are in need of renewal, and the museum closes its doors for renovation. As the last visitors file out, filmmaker Matthias De Groof takes up his camera to bear witness to the dismantling of colonial dioramas and internal conversations that will determine the future of the museum. In charting a new path forward, museum staff and delegates from African organizations convene to ponder the project's most basic questions – Who is the museum for? And what is the story being told?