The Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs, Alfonso Silva, attended the inauguration of "Africa, Artworks from the Ethnological Museum of Berlin" that is exhibited since August 2 at La Moneda Cultural Center and which seeks to broaden the cultural horizons of Chileans.
The show, which was presented today by Minister of Culture Roberto Ampuero, has over 180 pieces, mainly sculptures and high reliefs, in wood and metals ( bronze and brass), in addition to some textiles and contemporary photographs .
The Directorate of Middle East and Africa of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs collaborated in the mounting of the exhibition.
The Ethnologisches Museum, founded in 1876 as Museum für Völkerkunde (Ethnographic Museum) that is part of the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin (National Museums in Berlin) and the Stiftung Preußischer Kulturbesitz ( Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation), has one of the largest collections of Africa in the world, with 75 thousand pieces.
The collection, considered the most important in the world in this area, provides a new look at African art, detaching it from stereotypes associated to what is primitive, tribal and magical, showcasing its creations as works of art in an international context.