Quai Branly President Emmanuel Kasarhérou on 20 Years of Decolonizing Museums

Emmanuel Kasarhérou, president of the Musée du quai Branly – Jacques Chirac since May 27, 2021, reflects on the museum's 20th anniversary on June 20, 2026. He praises the museum's original vision of moving beyond ethnographic boundaries, embodied in Jean Nouvel's architecture. Kasarhérou notes the museum has evolved through geopolitical shifts and generational changes among curators, fostering a more receptive approach to global cultures. He highlights international partnerships, provenance research (accelerated since 2020 with two new internal posts), and exhibitions like 'Mission Dakar-Djibouti – Contre-enquêtes' (2025) and 'Senghor et les arts' (2023). The museum has hosted 161 exhibitions internally and 115 internationally across 29 countries. Kasarhérou discusses the 2023 Dakar Declaration, signed by 60 museums to strengthen ties and promote itinerant exhibitions, and the April 13, 2026 French law facilitating restitution of colonial-era looted artifacts. He cites the 'talking drum' from Côte d'Ivoire as an exemplary restitution case. The museum attracts 1.35 million annual visitors (80% French residents) and aims to engage diverse publics through interdisciplinary themes, as seen in 'Africa Fashion' (until July 12, 2026). Kasarhérou advocates rethinking European conservation norms from the 1970s, emphasizing local museum missions in Africa, and building trust-based relationships with source communities.