NATIONAL MUSEUM

The museum houses a collection of ancient objects from all regions of the country. One of its wings has been restored thanks to the support of the Japanese Embassy, but the whole museum is still in need of renovation for a real enhancement of the collected objects. The museum regularly hosts temporary exhibitions and other cultural events. The permanent exhibition is made up of emblematic objects of the main ethnic groups of Guinea and of the different cultures, notably some masks and traditional dress. The short visit is commented by the curator or by an animator, not always very enthusiastic. A model at the end of the permanent exhibition presents the structures of the different regions. It is a pity that the exhibition room is so poorly lit and the objects so little highlighted. Fortunately, it is air-conditioned. Note that it is normally forbidden to take pictures inside the museum, unless you ask the director for permission (without any guarantee). The museum's reserves seem to be quite substantial, but the lack of means of the structure seems to condemn them to remain hidden. In the courtyard of the museum, statues and busts dating from the colonial period but also more recent ones have been gathered. This historical bric-a-brac is dominated by an immense and magnificent cheese tree that must have seen many people pass through this courtyard, but also by the statue of Eugène Ballay, governor of French Guinea at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries. At the foot of the tree, as if installed under its protective wing, is the massive hut of Olivier de Sanderval built in 1896, one of the last vestiges of the passage of this French explorer in Guinea and his crazy project to create a kingdom in Fouta Djalon (read on this subject The King of Kahel by Thierno Monénembo). Today it is a curious concrete ogive, sometimes squatted by painters who exhibit their paintings. The museum's enclosure also houses a quiet cafeteria with a straw hut topped with a giant colonial helmet that seems to be a hollow tribute to the French colonizer (closed during our visit in May 2022). Nearby, a craftsman exhibits art objects, especially Tuareg. The museum is ultimately a pretty amazing place in Conakry. If you are in the area, take a break. For a guided tour and a historical point, ask to meet the main animator Martine Sara.