This exhibition is the first international exhibition dedicated to Black Music in South Africa, hosted at the Museum Africa in Johannesburg.

The exhibition will take place from the 31st August to the 12th December within the temporary exhibit spaces. The Museum Africa is the most important museum in South Africa dedicated to African history and cultures.

From the epic poems of the Manding griots to the melodic songs of the Mississippi Delta bluesmen. From the bars of New Orleans to the Manhattan clubs where the jazz odyssey began. From the streets of Memphis to Detroit, home to Motown's rhythm ‘n' blues and then techno. From the original Yoruba rhythms to the birth of afrobeat in Lagos. From Havana to New York's Spanish Harlem where salsa was born. From calypso melodies in Trinidad to samba and bossa-nova in Rio. From the Kingston neighbourhoods where ska and reggae appeared, to the empty lots of the Bronx where hip hop emerged.

The voice, the breath, the rhythms and the soul of millions of slaves deported from Africa to the Americas generated an extraordinarily rich musical legacy. This epic tale is not specifically American, African, Caribbean or European, it is a combination of them all. It is a heritage which emerged out of a transnational space in constant transformation: the Black Atlantic.

After 400 years of slavery and one of the greatest tragedies in human history, an age defined by racial terror gave way to a phenomenal explosion of creativity and freedom that drove the west towards democracy and modernity. Black music is the very expression of this quest for emancipation and liberty, and global popular culture has been shaped by its rapture and by its pain. Today black music is a worldwide phenomenon, transcending all notions of ethnicity and nationalism. Black music is at the heart of both western modernity and the African renaissance.

Through this brand new multi-media exhibition, we will tell you about one of the greatest adventures of contemporary art: the international story of black music.

Marc Benaïche - Mondomix


An extraordinary, worldwide epic ; a global achievement

Billie Holiday, John Coltrane, Bob Marley, Miles Davis, Louis Armstrong, Nina Simone, Fela Kuti, Ali Farka Touré, Miriam Makeba, Jay Z, Public Enemy, Gilberto Gil, Cesaria Evora, Hugh Masekela, Keziah Jones, Youssou N'Dour, Mory Kante, Salif Keïta, Ismaël Lo, Danyel Waro, Christine Salem, Ladysmith Black Mambazo…

So many names, so many artists, so many heroes who created an exceptional artistic adventure and one of the most vibrant and profound forms of expression of the 20th Century: Black Music.

How is it possible to tell the worldwide story of black music? The music has resonated for centuries and has filled our memories with thousands of songs. To tell the whole story we would need an exhibition many miles long….

So for our exhibition, we have created an immersive introduction to the story of black music. The route through the exhibition is a thematic journey through geography and history, via thousands of musical styles, using audio-visual elements, documentary films and photographs to create over 100 interactive exhibits, and some spectacular installations.
You are invited to follow a route through five major zones: The Sacred Figures of Black Music, Mama Africa, The Birth Of The Black Atlantic, The Black Americas and Global Mix.

As you move through the exhibition, you can select and activate the sequences of your choice. At the end of your visit you can save your route online so that you can revisit your favourite parts of the exhibition via internet.