From May 18, the MEG (Musée d'ethnographie de Genève) takes you to Africa, to discover the religious cultures of the continent that is the cradle of humanity.
The exhibition "Africa. Religions of ecstasy" reveals the richness of African
practices. Throughout the exhibition, visitors are immersed in an atmosphere of mysticism and discover the fervor of believers.
Over 400 never-before-seen pieces from MEG's collections are enriched by fascinating images by five internationally-renowned contemporary photographers. A series of short filmed testimonials present the point of view of the enthusiasts themselves.
Video installations by an Ethiopian artist punctuate the exhibition route, revealing the notion of the sacred in indigenous African religions.
The exhibition follows the thread of religious ecstasy, an intense communion with divine forces. It's a state in which a person finds himself or herself transported out of the self and out of the real world.
In "Afrique. Les religions de l'extase", religion is defined as a set of rituals that bind the living together, in the face of the powers of the invisible: a single god, multiple deities, ancestral spirits or the spirits of nature.
The exhibition covers monotheistic religions (Islam, Christianity and Judaism), indigenous African religions, possession cults and magic-religious universes. Here, Africa is seen not as a geographical space, but as a cultural one. These religious practices can be found as far afield as the Americas and Europe, where they have been widely disseminated by the diaspora.