This diptych and public exhibition is a double event: it simultaneously puts the spotlight on the classical art of Benin, the twenty-six royal treasures recently returned by the Musée du Quai Branly, and on the contemporary art scene of Benin and its diaspora, major and emerging artists, through a museum tour of more than 2,000m2.

In a diachronic approach, from the 19th century to the 21st century, between masterpieces of yesterday and today, the exhibition " Benin Art of yesterday and today: from Restitution to Revelation " makes accessible in an unprecedented way, the heritage and contemporary creation of Benin to a large public, national and international, in Benin; a nerve centre of creation and artistic dissemination on the African continent.

The "Contemporary Art of Benin" section of the exhibition will bring together 34 contemporary artists and more than a hundred works, displaying all the artistic vitality of the Beninese scene through a diversity of mediums, aesthetics and techniques: painting, sculpture, installation, video art, drawing, digital art, performance art... and the "Royal Treasures of Benin" section will present works that have just returned to their birthplace and place of creation after 129 years of exile in majesty.

Presented at the Palais de la Marina, Presidency of the Republic of Benin, the exhibition "Art of Benin of yesterday and today: from Restitution to Revelation", is a highlight of the first quarter of 2022, which will take place through several multidisciplinary events "inside" and "outside": conferences, screenings, mediation activities.

This event-exhibition is part of the dynamic undertaken by Benin - both to restore its heritage and to promote its contemporary creation - to equip its territory with several museums of international renown, in particular: the Museum of the Epic of the Amazons and Kings of Danxomè (MEARD) and the Museum of Contemporary Art of Cotonou (MACC). So many large-scale cultural facilities meeting international standards which are in prefiguration and whose inauguration is scheduled for 2024