JOIN US THIS MAY: LIVE GAMING LEAGUE WITH MILELE MUSEUM ⁑ ⁑ ⁑ ⁑ ⁑ ⁑ MILELE ARTIST OPEN CALL FOR ESWATINI IS OPEN UNTIL 5 JUNE 2025. MAIL YOUR BIO, 4 ARTWORKS WITH DATA , 2 PROFILE TO INFO@MILELEMUSEUM.COM ⁑ ⁑ ⁑ ⁑ ⁑ ⁑
What we do
Milele Museum is a hybrid institution that safeguards and digitalize the pre-colonial history and knowledge on the African ecosystem.
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Milele Virtual Museum
We believe that technology, when used with care, can bring people closer to their roots. MVM sparks new forms of learning, healing, and creativity.
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Provenance research
We collaborate with cultural institutions around the world to conduct provenance research on their African collections. Our approach is rooted in Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) — a methodology that treats community members as equal partners throughout the research process.
The findings are shared through features in our virtual museum and will also be accessible in our upcoming digital archive, designed to grow over time and remain open to community input.
Are you interested in collaborating? We have experience in exhibition curating, 3D scanning, research projects, and community engagement.
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Education
At Milele Museum, we are building a futuristic Africa with transforming how history and art are taught. We are decolonizing current history education on the continent by introducing interactive art and heritage programs.
We partner with schools across all levels to run workshops that blend pre-colonial history, digitization, archiving, and creative expression. Through hands-on learning, students gain the skills to preserve their culture, tell their own stories, and critically engage with both local and international archives.
We also provide accessible education on restitution — helping the next generation understand their role in shaping how African heritage can be returned, remembered, and reimagined.
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Public Art and Exhibitions
Africa needs more public art. We believe it has the power to transform everyday spaces and spark meaningful dialogue.
At Milele Museum, we work closely with our stakeholders to create interactive sculptures and exhibitions that blend technology with tradition.
One of our proudest moments was donating three public sculptures across Rwanda — honoring ancestral knowledge while creating space for reflection and learning.
Chidi
Chidi is an artist, designer, and tech practitioner, and the founder of Looty, an AfroTech collective. He is the curator of the Benin Kingdom exhibit in the Milele Virtual Museum and continues to be part of our journey of growth and innovation.
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Hadia Eltom
Hadia Eltom is a multidisciplinary creative leader and producer with over 15 years of experience across media, culture, and technology. With Milele Museum, she honors the ancestral memory of the Kingdom of Kush amidst Sudan’s ongoing crisis.
Abdalsalam Elhaj
Abdalsalam's work lies in the intersection of technology, arts and culture. He is the founder of Rift Digital Lab and works closely with Milele Museum in facilitation and innovation.
Compass Creative Productions
A Sudanese audio-visual production company that started from their belief that art precedes reality. Creative Compass is Milele's partner in documentation and facilitation.
Jamilah Willis
She leads with heart in every project. Based in Detroit, with roots in Guinea and Mali, they are passionate about creating for institutions that support Indigenous communities through art, education, spirituality, and collective care. She is part of the Social Media Marketing Team at Milele.
Xolelwa Malinga
Born and raised in the Kingdom of Eswatini, Xolelwa Malinga is a self-taught multidisciplinary artist. Inspired by the female form dreams. She is part of the Social Media Marketing Team at Milele.
Malcolm Odhiambo
A Kenyan creative director, photographer, and filmmaker with roots in youth mentorship. Passionate about connecting African creatives through art, storytelling, and shared dreams. He is Milele's Kenyan ambassador.
Idris Mwasi
A Kenyan Journalism and Mass Communication student with hands-on experience in recording, editing, and producing music and advertising videos. Passionate about visual storytelling and eager to grow while contributing to dynamic media projects. He is part of the Social Media Marketing Team at Milele.
Canda
Canda is an interdisciplinary artist, educator, and Founding Creative Director of Milele Museum.
Melissa Kurkut
As an artist, curator, and researcher, she approaches the world through her Rwandan-Kurdish heritage. She is the Founding Executive Director of Milele Museum.
Brian Njenga
Brian Njenga is a digital artist and researcher from Nairobi, known for using 3D, XR, and gamedev to reconnect people with Kenya’s cultural heritage. He is the founder of Urban Gurus.
Ian Okinda
Ian Okinda is a Kenyan video game programmer who builds games, interactive experiences, and platforms using Unreal Engine. He collaborates with artists and storytellers across Africa and beyond to create digital tools with social and cultural impact.
How It All Started
Milele Museum was born in 2021, founded by Rwandan interdisciplinary artist and educator Canda, and Rwandan-Kurdish artist, curator, and researcher Melissa Kurkut. At the time, global conversations around the restitution of African artifacts were gaining momentum. But as artists and cultural workers, we noticed that these conversations were often happening in academic and museum circles — far removed from the communities whose histories were at stake.
The voices of descendants — those whose ancestors once lived with, used, and honored these objects — were rarely at the center. Often, they are brought in symbolically, or spoken about, rather than with. Restitution is a political process that can take years, requiring state-level agreements and diplomacy. Then what? Where do these objects go? To African museums built during colonial rule that still follow Western structures?
These questions stayed with us. We asked ourselves:
How can we, as people on the ground, contribute to this complex issue?
How can we make space for unapologetic voices, unfiltered by institutions or a colonial gaze?
How do we move beyond the glass box and white cube?
This is how Milele Museum began as a platform to reimagine heritage, storytelling, and access in the digital age. It started with artifacts and now we are expanding to the African pre-colonial ecosystem.
The people behind Milele Museum
Milele = Forever
Milele means forever in Swahili. We chose this name in the earliest days because, as Africans, we’ve always known that our heritage lives within us. No matter how many times our stories have been erased, rewritten, or silenced, they remain. We are here to protect, to reshare, and to pass them on.