The Somali Museum of Minnesota may be the only museum in the world dedicated to preserving traditional Somali culture.

While there once was a national history museum in Mogadishu, the contents of that museum have scattered around the world.  Minnesota is now home to one of the world’s largest Somali diaspora populations, and it is now also the home of this unique opportunity for cultural learning.

The Somali Museum is the home of traditional Somali arts in Minnesota.  Displaying a collection of over 700 pieces, and offering educational programs about Somali traditional culture that are not offered anywhere else, the Somali Museum offers an unrivaled opportunity for Minnesotans of all backgrounds to encounter and learn about Somali traditional culture.

The Somali Museum’s mission is to use this collection as a tool for education: making it possible for young Somalis who have grown up in the United States to connect with their culture, as well as Minnesotans of other ethnic heritage to encounter Somali art and traditional culture for the first time.  The Museum’s programs explore the changing role of traditional arts and culture as the Somali people move across borders and time.  By promoting the highest forms of Somali creativity, the Somali Museum believes that it can also help to diminish harmful prejudice and misunderstanding.

Author: Jeremy Iggers

Jeremy Iggers is a journalist, university instructor and social entrepreneur with interests that include food, philosophy and global-local connections. Previously, he was a staff writer for the Minneapolis Star Tribune and publisher of the Twin Cities Daily Planet. He lives in south Minneapolis with his wife Carol and two cats.