Musée Griot.
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Musée Griot. *
Following the meeting of the performative luncheon of the Griot Museum in modern comfort, solo exhibition of Bocar Niang, 2024
Presentation of the project
The Musée Griot.te.s is a project to build a museum in Tambacounda, Senegal. It's a project to structure stories and languages - ‘a first in Senegal and Africa’. It's a place where young people can discuss art, share experiences, receive training, find employment and develop their potential, particularly in Tambacounda. It's an extraordinary project that will house a Griot Museum, a local art school, the Tamba School of Art, and a young talent festival (art and sport). A green space, three guest rooms for temporary accommodation for residents and a home studio for traditional and modern music.
The museum has been under construction since June 2023 and is due to open in December 2026. The aim is to promote the transmission and intangible heritage of griot culture in Senegal and West Africa, and to think about and co-construct the oral practices that will make up the griots of the future. This museum rethinking the forms of cultural and heritage transmission by giving voice, storytelling and living memory to the heart of the museum experience, at the crossroads of oral tradition, contemporary art and digital technology.
It's a place for exhibitions, showcases, training and dialogue for young people, combining tradition, modernity and innovation.
History of the project:
In 2021, with the support of the Tambacounda City Council and through the Prefect of Tambacounda Mame Less CABOU, (supporter and sponsor of Free label), the Minister of Finance and Budget, granted a Land of 400 m² for the construction of the Griot Museum of Senegal in Tambacounda. The land is located in the new Lot, district: Parcelle Assainie 2 de Tambacounda - in the heart of the city of Tambacoundoise, just behind the Tambacounda.
Museum construction in progress
Diougouna Cissokho and Bocar Niang - griot.te.s
Scene reconstruction, May 2026 at the Griot Museum, Lisa Abdoulaye, France
Scene reconstruction, May 2026 at the Griot Museum, Lisa Abdoulaye, France
T
The griot is the memory of a family, a village, a country.
Storyteller, genealogist and historian, musician, singer and mediator, they are a social glue, a
guardian of traditions.
The griot, male or female, is defined as a lyricist, an artist, a performer,
a musician, a teacher, a journalist, a historian, a genealogist,
and a socio-cultural mediator. In African society, these figures are considered
seasoned thinkers thanks to their imaginations and oral expression. Contemporary griot culture encompasses a vast field of research and material,
whether spoken word, performance, music, dance, or taking the form of interviews,
books, documentaries, films, texts, or even beads, pottery, boubous, mats,
musical instruments, etc.
Some figures associated with orality, griot culture, and the ideas that have shaped the
Griot Museum include: Amadou Hampâté Bà, Barbara Cassin, Walter J. Ong, Claudette Colvin, Maryse Condé, Cheikh Anta Diop, Édouard Glissant, Soundiata Keita, Audre Lorde, Ndiengou Niang,
Felwine Sarr, and others.