The Cultural Museum of African Art, Inc. – The Eric Edwards Collection (“CMAAEEC”) will be holding a Grand Opening Ceremony at Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation on Saturday, 11/18/2023, at 1:00PM. CMAAEEC received a $1,000,000 grant in 2021 to create the museum from the New York State Assembly, thanks to the leadership of NYS Assemblymember, Stefani Zinerman, and NYS Assembly Speaker, Carl Heastie. CMAAEEC has amassed more than 3,000 unique African Artifacts, from all 54 countries on the African continent, spanning more than 4,000 years of human history. It is the most important and significant collection of African Artifacts in the world, with many pieces directly from African Royal Families.

The design of the new CMAAEEC museum at Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation has been created by the world-renowned architect, Rodney Leon. Mr. Leon is the architect of the “African Burial Ground National Monument” in Lower Manhattan, as well as the “Ark of Return,” which sits at the United Nations. Further, CMAAEEC is in the process of creating the Museum of the Future. The physical exhibition will be paired with a 3D, 360-degree digital experience of the African artifacts in CMAAEEC’s Collection. In addition, CMAAEEC has developed an Educational Curriculum that expands the knowledge of the contributions of the peoples of the African Diaspora. Since 2017, our Educational Curriculum has been disseminated throughout the City of New York through our partnership with the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs. We seek to expand our reach by developing a relationship with the New York City Department of Education, amongst other school districts and entities.