BRUSSELS.- On 28 November 2025, the AfricaMuseum opened The Congo Panorama 1913. Colonial illusion exposed. Through the participation of artists, experts, and researchers, the exhibition juxtaposes colonial imagery with historical and contemporary voices, stories, and insights that long remained silent. By inviting you to take a closer look, the exhibition opens a broader conversation about propaganda, colonisation, and the long shadow it casts.

The exhibition centres on the Congo Panorama, the main attraction of the Belgian colonial section in the 1913 Ghent World Exhibition. This immersive attractionwas meant to convince visitors of the supposed ‘benefits’ Belgium brought to Congo through its purportedly ‘civilising’ mission. Acts of violence by Europeans, forced labour, and Congolese resistance were deliberately omitted – an early form of what we now call ‘fake news’.

More than a century later, using a smaller scale reproduction of the painting, the AfricaMuseum revisits this painstakingly constructed and megalomaniacal instrument of propaganda. Not to glorify the colonial enterprise and its message, but on the contrary, offer a counter-narrative.

Collaborations with artists, experts, and researchers from Congo and Belgium provide an international and critical counterpoint that challenge the colonial illusion depicted by the panorama. Archives, photos and objects, mostly from the collections of the AfricaMuseum, give a striking view of what was concealed in 1913. Past and present testimonials destabilise the idyll presented by the panorama.

Finally the exhibition invites visitors to draw parallels with contemporary forms of propaganda and misinformation.

Our challenge was to determine how to treat the Congo Panorama. Is it a work of art, a historical record, or a simple projection screen? The exhibition's complexity unfolds in the tension between these three aspects, as long-forgotten voices of resistance are heard alongside critical contemporary readings. - Patrick Mudekereza, curator.