Paris is home to museums celebrating fashion design, hunting, sex and even dolls and dollhouses. Nevertheless, for a long time there was an obvious absence of non-Western art in the city. That substantial void was filled in June of 2006 with the opening of the spectacular Quai Branly Museum. Designed by renowned architect Jean Nouvel, the modern design of the building–and the non-Western collection–sit in stark contrast to its Seine-side neighbors the Louvre and the Musee d’Orsay. Thankfully for visitors New York Habitat is, of course, a regular in the neighborhood.
Whereas many mutli-cultural museums are situated away from city centers, the Quai Branly sits at the foot of the Eiffel Tower, in the popular 7th arrondissement, in some of the most sought after Paris real estate. The museum’s collection is devoted entirely to the art and artifacts from Africa, Asia, Oceania and the Americas. The museum’s permanent collection is comprised of over 3,500 artifacts from four different continents. Mostly impressive is the Quai Branly’s schedule of temporary exhibitions which boldly tackle issues of colonization, race and cultural misunderstandings.
This spring the Quai Branly hosts an exhibition titled Planette Mettisse: To mix or not to mix. The presentation delves into globalization and the effect crossing of cultures has had on art and human history. The museum juxtaposes works from the 15th century to the present day in order to highlight the importance and richness gained from the collaboration of cultures. Also on display this spring is an exhibition devoted to sculptures carved from African Ivory.
–1-bedroom apartment rental in Auteuil – Tour Eiffel (PA-3529)
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The importance of an engaging non-Western museum like the Quai Branly cannot be understated. For now the Louvre and Musee d’Orsay rule the museum scene in Paris but the buzz building around the Branly is definitely worth noting.
Tell us about your favorite Paris Museum experiences below:
My favorites are smaller Paris museums like Musee Marmottan and the hotels particuliers in the Marais. I also like smaller archaeological sites around France. I know that those of us who are more interested in history and anthropology than art will greatly enjoy the Quai Branly museum.
The museum contains the collections of the now-closed Musée national des Arts d’Afrique et d’Océanie and the ethnographic department of the Musée de l’Homme. The museum contains 267,000 objects in its permanent collection, of which 3,500 items from the collection are on display.
It’s my favoriyes museum.
My favorite Parisian Museum is the Musee Grevin. You can admire celebrities made out of wax. The way they do each statue is amazing (details of the face,eye expression etc…). I saw on the French News that they recently put new celebrities (i.e Celine Dion, and her husband Rene Angelil, the basket man Tony Parker and the French President Nicolas Sarkozy). Located in the Montmartre area, you can visit this Museum on your way to the Sacre Coeur…. Don’t forget to bring your camera!!!