History

Situated in one of the most beautiful residential areas of Belgrade, the Museum of African Art is the only museum in the country entirely dedicated to the culture and arts of the African continent.

The Museum was created to house an extremely valuable African art collection, assembled by connoisseurs and dedicated art collectors - Veda and dr Zdravko Pečar, during their years spent in West Africa. In the span of more than twenty years, dr Pečar, accompanied by his wife Veda, traveled across the African continent, initially as a reporter, and later as a diplomat and ambassador. Exceptional knowledge of African history, culture, and art, a close relationship with the African peoples, their customs and lifestyle, as well as a great personal and material effort, enabled the benefactors to collect pieces of immense value which today constitute an extraordinary collection of African art.

Dr Zdravko Pečar among the Pygmies		Dr Zdravko Pečar among the Pygmies		Dr Zdravko Pečar in a Dogon village		Veda Pečar with recently acquired sculptures at the diplomatic residence in Accra

The couple bequeathed this exceptional collection to the City of Belgrade. Under the patronage of the local authorities, the Museum of African Art was opened to the public in 1977. What makes this museum unique is the fact that all the museum objects have been exported from Africa with written permission from the respective African governments.

The founding collection of the museum is continually being enhanced through purchases and donations, not only of single African pieces, but of whole collections. Hence the museum collection currently comprises several thousand authentic tradition-based objects originating in West, Central and East Africa.