[MAAOA] Museum of African, American, Indian Ocean Art

Opened to the public in 1992, the Museum of African, Oceanian, and Amerindian Art (MAAOA) is, along with the Musée du Quai Branly – Jacques Chirac in Paris, the only museum in France exclusively dedicated to the arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. The MAAOA presents a rich collection of art objects that serve both as cultural testimonies and as artworks in their own right.

These objects have been viewed in various ways over time. Initially regarded as mere curiosities, they contributed in the 18th century to an early understanding of the world’s cultural diversity. In the 19th century, these objects gained dual recognition: by scientists who documented them, and by artists who acknowledged their influence on new artistic forms and experimentation. Enlightened collectors followed both these paths.

The MAAOA is the heir to these perspectives. This is reflected in the nature of its collections (remnants of colonial museums, a former private collection of high quality, loans, and more recent acquisitions) as well as in its mission: to provide insight into these objects as testimonies to the cultural histories of the peoples and societies from which they originate.

MAAOA is resolutely an art museum, offering visitors the interpretive tools needed to appreciate the uniqueness of its works. It is housed in the magnificent 17th-century architectural complex of La Vieille Charité.

The Africa Room
This room is partly composed of the donation from L. Pierre Guerre (1911–1978), a brilliant lawyer from Marseille and a passionate collector of African art who had been fascinated by the continent since childhood. As early as the beginning of the 20th century, Pierre Guerre and his father Léonce assembled one of the oldest African art collections in France. Upon his death, part of this collection was donated and now forms the backbone of MAAOA’s African art collection. This donation of 87 masks and statues is complemented by pieces on loan from the Marseille-Provence Chamber of Commerce and Industry—remnants of the city’s colonial museums—as well as by new acquisitions.

The Oceania-Americas Room
This space brings together works from both continents, notably including pieces from the unique collection of eminent Marseille-based neurologist Professor Henri Gastaud (1915–1995). In 1989, the city of Marseille acquired his collection of more than 80 sculpted, painted, overmodeled, or engraved human skulls, gathered from around the world. The room also features a Kanak mourning mask (New Caledonia) on loan from the Évreux Museum and objects collected by the MAAOA in Vanuatu in 1991 and 1992. Stunning Amerindian feather ornaments, donated by Marcel Heckenroth (1902–2008)—a colonial army doctor stationed in the Oyapock region (French Guiana) between 1939 and 1942—have also enriched the collection.

The Mexico Room
The room dedicated to Mexican folk art was created following the 1993 bequest of the extraordinary collection of François Reichenbach. A documentary filmmaker with a deep passion for Mexico, he amassed nearly 3,000 objects during his many trips to the country since the 1950s. In 2016, the MAAOA acquired the collection of Bernard Meusnier, a producer and friend of Reichenbach, who had also collected Mexican works. Today, their combined collections form a unique and unprecedented ensemble housed at the MAAOA.