Afrosonica - Soundscapes

MEG, the Geneva’s Museum of Ethnography, is delighted to announce its upcoming exhibition, Afrosonica - Soundscapes, opening on May 16, 2025.

This immersive sound exhibition explores the role of music and sound in African societies and their diasporas. Through a selection of instruments, sound archives and contemporary installations, the exhibition highlights the power of sound and music to broaden perspectives, evoke the present moment, communicate, foster connections between humans and non-humans, convey knowledge and emotions, and preserve memories.

Afrosonica - Soundscapes illuminates the transformative power of sound as a tool for memory, connection and change.

The exhibition represents a new chapter for MEG, offering a museography rooted in a sensory approach, with a central focus on sound perception and the act of listening.

Press pack

A journey into African soundscapes

With a transhistorical and multidisciplinary approach, Afrosonica - Soundscapes showcases sound as a dynamic source of connection, memory and cultural transformation.

The exhibition offers a multisensory journey through the music of the African continent. Visitors are invited to explore various dimensions of the role of sound and music: connecting with one’s inner self, history, and genealogy, with the environment and with the beyond.

Historical and contemporary anchors

The exhibition is firmly grounded in the historical and contemporary realities of Africa and its diasporas. Spanning millennia, it bridges contemporary sound creation with musical traditions passed down through generations.

The exhibition’s journey demonstrates how sound links ancient practices, such as dance or playing specific musical instruments, with more modern expressions like electronic and experimental music.

Afrosonica - Soundscapes highlights a multitude of musical and sound practices from across Africa, from Egypt to South Africa via Benin, and beyond, including its diasporas in countries like the United States.

A focus on instrumental and material diversity

The exhibition features a wide variety of musical instruments, such as lamellophones (sanza, mbira, likembe, etc.) used in meditative contexts, harps depicted in cave paintings dating back millennia, various anthropomorphic instruments that connect the human and the sonic and the bullroarer, whose sound holds sacred significance.

The exhibition also examines the diverse materials used to craft these instruments, ranging from natural to repurposed resources.

Co-curators : Madeleine Leclair, curator at MEG, and Ntshepe Tsekere Bopape (Mo Laudi), artist

Scientific advisor : Mathias Liengme, MEG

Featuring works by : Tarek Atoui, Rohan Ayinde and Tayo Rapoport, Sammy Balojiet David Nadeau-Bernatchez, Elena Bertuzzi, Ntshepe Tsekere Bopape (Mo Laudi), Sonia Boyce, Simnikiwe Buhlungu, DJ Lynnée Denise, Ahmed Essyad, Em’kal Eyongakpa, Hamadoun Kassogué, KMRU, Evita Koné, Mansara and Amaury Voslion, Luca Mazzaferri, Elsa M’Bala, Yara Mekawei, Trinity Mesimé Njume-Ebong, aja monet, Bocar Niang, Nicolas Repac, Reda Sayagh, Jürgen Schadeberg, Segen, Wasulu Selecta, Bintou Simporé, Penny Siopis, Binetou Sylla, Midori Takada, Laëtycia Vumuka.

The exhibition also features installations focused on the voice of masks, meditative music for lamellophones, and music associated with Vodoun and Afrosonica Sufi cultures.