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Immerse yourself in the energy, richness and vibrancy of African culture when Manchester Museum celebrates Africa Day.

Experience African music, dance, fashion and food, while learning about Africa’s story through talks, workshops and opportunities to engage with African items cared for by the Museum.

Africa Day is an annual commemoration of the foundation of the Organization of African Unity (OAU), today known as the African Union, on 25 May 1963.

For Africans on the continent and in the diaspora, Africa Day signifies unity, pride in being African, and an opportunity to celebrate their heritage by donning traditional outfits and putting on vibrant displays of culture and diversity.

Significantly, Manchester is a very important city for Africans because it hosted the Pan African Congress at Chorlton-on-Medlock Town Hall in 1945, intended to address the decolonisation of Africa from Western imperial powers. The congress demanded an end to colonial rule and racial discrimination as well as the recognition of human rights and equality of economic opportunity for all peoples of African heritage.

Manchester Museum cares for more than 40,000 objects from across Africa, many of which were collected during the period of the British Empire, through practices that included trade, anthropology, confiscation, and looting. Your Museum’s Africa Day celebrations are a way of making the stories of these African collections more visible, collaborating with diaspora communities to celebrate and build understanding of African cultural heritage.

This is also part of our Manchester Museum Celebrates event series, building connection and understanding through vibrant cultural celebrations.