A place to which you must go, because sadly there aren't many places in Dakar to see African culture. The place shows tribal art from several countries of the region, and what they show is ok BUT, I was expecting so much more... there are so many interesting in this part of the world, and this museum is ok, but should show so much more. There is no personnel to do guided tours, so you are left to do the tour on your own, and of course, that is a big loss. The tags are worthless most of the time, stating the obvious, that is, a description of what you can see, which you can see already! But no context, no info on what the piece was used for, etc. That was quite disappointing. There are two floors. There is a proyection room, but no projector... there is a TV which is running the same video again and again showing some national authority speaking at the UN speaking of the need to recover the African art that was shamelessly stolen by the colonialists. I am all for it, but this shouldn't be the one and only video... you can see they don't have resources. It's sad. But well, the things on display are really good, don't miss it.

It felt super cool to visit this place. I had the opportunity to see many artifacts that are native to West Africa (Senegal, Mauritania, Mali, Guinea, Bissau Guinea, Burkina Faso, Benin, Ivory Cost and many more countries)

Sad exposition, no introduction, no context given, a handful of dirty dusty masks and items, very disappointing and as foreigner your charged twice the price 5.000 / 7 € definitely not worth your money....

Very expensive for just one floor of artefacts. And why the first floor is given over to a white male artist beggars belief. African artists are snubbed even in their own land? Really. Totally resent having to pay to see this.

(Translated by Google) I loved (Original) J'ai beaucoup aimé

Ein sehr interessantes und schönes Museum über den Spirit, Rituale und Kultur Afrikas. Wir hatten eine sehr nette und ausführliche Führung in English. Unser Guide hat mit Herzen die Führung erklärt.

Visited in January 2020. The permanent exhibitions mainly contains art from West Africa such as masks, instruments, statues, etc. Interesting and beautiful art but little explanation about the collection itself and how it is all related. Count 30-45min. Price for foreigners was XOF 5000. A temporary exhibition was held in a separate building « Fent Bokk ». Worth a visit too.

The artifacts were nice, but there was practically zero explanation of what the item was used for, it's estimated date of origin, or any context regarding the peoples from whom it came from. I imagine some of these items were hundreds of years old, but the placard just said which country it was from and when it was bought (as if that's relevant). There were no guides, not sure if it was just that day or if there are actually no guides. The pieces are nice, but if you're looking to learn something you're better off going straight to the artist in the garden in the back. This place definitely has the potential to be great with more context and information regarding availability of guides. See photos for the cool artifacts with super limited context.

A nice display of tribal art from several countries in the west Africa region. It was all in French so I had to use Google translate for English and Spanish. Behind the building is a nice garden with tables and chairs set up. Great place to relax and sit down to read a book or study for a little bit. I did not see a cafe in the building but if you bring your own snacks you can enjoy some peaceful time in the garden. There was a nice sand artist in the garden that did a demonstration of his art. We enjoyed meeting and talking with him for a while. There were also two peacocks walking around the garden. I enjoyed my leisurely time here.

Nice building but small ethnographic displays that aren’t organized or dates or even cleaned. 5000f is very expensive. Until March 31 2024 the 2nd floor has an interesting photography show making this museum somewhat more palatable. Usually 2nd floor is closed. The new Black Civilizations museums has similarly poorly displayed small collection but it’s only 3000f. Visit one or the other, not both. There is also an annex building out back with rotating exhibitions.

Exhibition is rather tired… place looks to be neglected… charge CFA 5,0000  as entry… it’s too much.. I would not return there

It's well laid out with beautiful pieces but a little explanation about the origins of the articles would go a long way. Also the art cards are only in French !!

(Translated by Google) Beauty of the building. (Original) Beauté de l édifice.

(Translated by Google) Beautiful and well placed (Original) Beau et bien placé

(Translated by Google) The space is interesting, ideal for organizing many more events (Original) L’espace est intéressant, idéal pour l’organisation de beaucoup plus d’événements

(Translated by Google) Very well (Original) Très bien

(Translated by Google) Quiet and rich in art. (Original) Calme et riche en art.

(Translated by Google) To have (Original) A voir

The museum was ok but it did not have a wide variety of pieces. I'd recommend stopping by to check the artists at the back.

Not worth the visit except maybe second floor tapestry. No descriptions, pricey ticket at 8$ and very few stuff. Sad.

(Translated by Google) The beach of IFAN (Original) La plage de l’IFAN

(Translated by Google) Easy access (Original) Accès facile

(Translated by Google) Very well laid out (Original) Tres bien amenagé

(Translated by Google) One of the largest museums in Africa (Original) L'un des plus grands musées d'Afrique

An interesting selection of continent-wide art, but the descriptions were scarce and I found it quite pricey (non-residents: 5,000 XOF). I was the only visitor when I went (1pm) so it was quite nice to have the place to myself to wander about.

Cool

Disappointed me quite a lot for it was closed due to restoration during my visit (July 2019). If it will be open once you visit there, you might as well take a walk around the beautiful neighborhood covered with old buildings and alluring trees.

It's ok

Beautiful! Highly recommended when visiting Dakar

Love the building. Very historical and clean.

(Translated by Google) Because I learned about West African culture (Original) Porque aprendi sobre a cultura da África Ocidental

The ancient art work display is limited here. Best experience is the slavery museum in Goree Island.

Just visited the Senegalese cinema industry exposition and felt both nostalgia and sadness. Nostalgia of the time when cinemas existed nearly in every main city in Sénégal and I used to go to some cinemas with my best friend who passed away long ago now. And sad to see the entire cinema industry has collapsed in Senegal without anyone feeling shocked or trying to revive it. Senghor, 1st président of Sénégal must be wondering if this is the country where he inspired an incredible cultural vibe for more than two decades

Worth a stop. Small collection, but interesting. Bring Google translate for the signs if you don't speak French. Explore the grounds; there's a little art space out back with some cool stuff.

Limited amount of exhibits. Some interesting (especially those from the Benin Kingdom), worth bringing a translation app as everything is in French. 30 minutes and you're done here. 5,000CFA entrance fee.

(Translated by Google) Magnificent! (Original) Magnifique!

A place to learn more about african art

Basically this museum has nothing like a museum ... just for a name sake. I would not suggest anyone to go there. rather u can visit the old cathedral church which is near to this place and the best place in dakar to get the peace of mind

Nice show of African art

It's probably worth visiting while in Dakar, but the exhibits are a little disappointing. Downstairs is and impressive but small collection of masks and carvings, upstairs was some decontextualized textiles. It can be compared with the national museum in Bamako which has the exact same set of exibits ( artifacts and textiles) but does a much better job of making them interesting. The guard at the entrance reduced our price significantly because we live in Egypt.

Good collection of African art products across the history. The price is relatively high for non-locals though, and taking this into consideration, I don't think you're missing a lot if you decide not to visit this museum.

Awesome experience, great exhibits with knowledgeable guides. Definitely worth the visit

While IFAN as an institution undoubtedly has great value as a repository of francophone west African culture, the museum doesn't seem to be using these resources to its full potential, resulting in an underwhelming experience. The exhibition space itself is fairly limited. Most of the art on the first floor comes from every francophone west African nation aside from Senegal. Little information is provided along with the pieces other than a 3 word description along with the place of origin. The second floor at the time of writing housed an extremely interesting exhibit on wrestling culture in Senegal, however it may benefit from more cohesion in the way that the narrative is structured, as the pieces presented seemed disjointed from the images directly above the pieces. While most travel lists and guides for Dakar would classify IFAN as a must see, I wouldn't lose sleep if I were to have missed visiting IFAN on a trip to Dakar. On the bright side, it is open on Sundays unlike much of the city.

I love it there

Wonderful place for making art, no facilities but inspired

(Translated by Google) A museum with a beautiful scenography (Original) Un musée avec une belle scénographie

(Translated by Google) Very famous institute I went there when I was 13 frankly I loved the works and especially at the entrance there was a very big elephant head with human skulls and quite frankly very pleasant for a school trip or with family 😘😘 (Original) Institut très celebre j'y suis allée à mes 13ans franchement j'ai adorée avec les oeuvres et tout surtout à l'entrée y avait une trés grosse tête d'éléphant des cranes humains et tout franchement très agreable pour une sortie scolaire ou en famille😘😘

(Translated by Google) A mecca of culture and history in a state of neglect (Original) Un haut lieu de culture et d'histoire en état presque d'abandon

(Translated by Google) Although rikiki and incidentally very expensive (when you love you don't count), you have to go! As a bonus, at the bottom of the park (where you can also access it for free) a crowd of adorable artists (but in Senegal, it will surprise no one, in short, only happiness! (Original) Quoique rikiki et accessoirement très cher (quand on aime on ne compte pas ), il faut y aller ! En bonus, au fond du parc ( où on peut d'ailleurs accéder gratuitement ) une palanquée d'artistes adorables (mais au Sénégal, ça n'étonnera personne , bref, que du bonheur !

(Translated by Google) There are not many bisees inside, unnecessarily expensive. (Original) Içerde fazla bise yok gereksiz pahalı..

This is an historically charged Free Masonic place where you can see lots of artifacts and other stuff...

(Translated by Google) Must go if you are interested in the art and history of Africa! (Original) Must go si vous vous intéresser a l art et à l histoire de l Afrique !

(Translated by Google) In front of the national assembly (Original) En face de l’assemblée nationale

(Translated by Google) nice and culturally rich place, with frequent exhibitions. (Original) lieu sympa et très riche culturellement, avec des expositions fréquentes.

A great place to visit in Senegal

(Translated by Google) GOOD (Original) BIEN

(Translated by Google) It is not worth 5000 (Original) Не стоит он 5000

(Translated by Google) It's really cool ❤️❤️❤️❤️ (Original) C' vraiment cool ❤️❤️❤️❤️

(Translated by Google) Discovery with my wife during our stay in Morocco. Top!! (Original) Découverte avec ma femme lors de notre séjour au Maroc. Top!!

Very limited and everything is curated in French only. Only the bottom floor was open

(Translated by Google) Museum located inside the University Cheikh Anta Diop of Dakar has the only scientific invention globally recognized: carbon 14 which allows to date the bones of our ancestors. (Original) Musee située a l intérieur de l université Cheikh Anta Diop de Dakar dispose de la seule et unique invention scientifique mondialement reconnue :le carbone 14 qui permet de dater les os de nos ancêtres.

(Translated by Google) Unfortunately 1 room out of three opened today ... shame! (Original) Malheureusement 1 salle sur trois ouverte ce jour...dommage !

(Translated by Google) Very accessible, easy to go (Original) Très accessible, Facile à aller

(Translated by Google) A place rich in historical lessons (Original) Un lieu riche d'enseignements historiques