Out of this world

Paris’s Musée du Quai Branly has been much hyped. It was President Jacques Chirac’s answer to a culturally divided society, which would showcase the arts and cultures not featured in the Louvre.

Much about the MQB is spectacular. The building stands out boldly against Haussman’s Parisian buildings with its bold, modern materials and design, set amongst lush beds of grass. The collections are stunning, showcasing the best art from across the globe, with pieces lit and arranged with care, making them appear jewel-like and magical. The museum is divided into four sections – Oceania, Asia, Africa, and the Americas – and a laudable effort has been made to differentiate cultures and countries within these, showing the breadth of artistic achievements in each region.

Yet, overall, the museum seems to fail in its aim of making disenfranchised French communities feel more included. The lighting and display increase the unreality of many of the objects, which, when combined with the cave-like gallery design, serves to emphasise the otherness not the sameness of the cultures on display. Likewise the guide leaflet’s description of the design as aiming to ‘take you to an entirely different world, away to other continents … no walls, only display cabinets spread like a forest in subdued light,’ and the jungle imagery covering the outer walls of the museum, give an impression of cultures struggling to artistic success out of the dark and the wild. The message seems to be ‘Look how much these other cultures have achieved! Oh, they’re definitely not European, but haven’t they done well nonetheless?’

The collections at the MQB are out of this world, but sadly, with the current curatorial approach, they will stay firmly beyond the boundaries of their own world for most French visitors.