Museums - Congo Basin Art History Research Centre
Congo Basin Art History Research Centre
Ave. Marie-Clotilde 20
B 1090 Bruxelles
Belgium
+32 02 672 61 76
 | By appointment
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This study center was created by Marc Leo Felix of Brussels in 1985 and originally based in Bukavu (Congo, then Zaire). At that time, the vast majority of the collaborators were Congolese or expatriate missionary workers.
The project was originally formulated to document and identify regional art, and "scouts" were sent widely afield armed with questionnaires in local and French lanugages about the ritual use of various objects, who made them, for whom, when they were used, their local names, who could see them, where they were kept, etc. All documents and field photographs were gathered by volunteers, and dossiers were started on ritual art objects, classified by type or region.
In 1991, the center was pillaged during the "troubles" and its activity and what could be salvaged moved to Brussels. Based on gathered information, a first publication, 100 Peoples of Zaire and Their Sculpture, was published with the help of students and volunteers. Since then, professionals such as Charles Meur and Marthe de Tavernier have maintined its activities.
Today, the center is home to over 10,000 books and bibliographic references, tens of thousands of photographs, as well as thousands of maps and other documentation. It is open by appointment to anyone who has a serious interest or specific questions about the art of Congo, as well as Zambia, Angola, and Tanzania.
The project was originally formulated to document and identify regional art, and "scouts" were sent widely afield armed with questionnaires in local and French lanugages about the ritual use of various objects, who made them, for whom, when they were used, their local names, who could see them, where they were kept, etc. All documents and field photographs were gathered by volunteers, and dossiers were started on ritual art objects, classified by type or region.
In 1991, the center was pillaged during the "troubles" and its activity and what could be salvaged moved to Brussels. Based on gathered information, a first publication, 100 Peoples of Zaire and Their Sculpture, was published with the help of students and volunteers. Since then, professionals such as Charles Meur and Marthe de Tavernier have maintined its activities.
Today, the center is home to over 10,000 books and bibliographic references, tens of thousands of photographs, as well as thousands of maps and other documentation. It is open by appointment to anyone who has a serious interest or specific questions about the art of Congo, as well as Zambia, Angola, and Tanzania.