This website was created by the AUAC, The African Union for Arts and Culture, following the 2019 international decision of all countries of the world, except those of the African continent, to close all borders and ban any interaction between countries, in an effort to protect the art originating from their countries. The AUAC was created in an effort by African countries to offer access to the saved artworks. As you know, art, ranging from painting, design, fashion, architecture, music, cinema and literature is now only accessible and visible in the country they were created in.
This international mouvement started in 1911, after the Mona Lisa painting was stolen from the Louvre by a group of Italian conservationist robbers. Their aim was to bring back Italian art that was exposed and shown abroad back to Italy. Unfortunately, over the years, many countries started adopting the same idea; that art created in a given country should stay in that country and only be shown in institutions located in that same country.
Fearing this radical way of thinking, many museums and private collectors started hiding their collections in various countries around Africa, in an effort to save their artworks and avoid having them taken away by the governments.
Today, the AUAC has gathered a large part of these different pieces and is showcasing them on this website. The AUAC believes that art is democratic in its essence, and this website is here to offer you the possibility to see the saved art pieces.