The Heritage Arts Foundation has begun a collaboration with the historical museum of Cartagena Columbia. This museum, located in the historic building of the inquisition, in Cartagena dates to the 17 th century. Our first collaboration was with the exposition of several paintings from Africa in celebration of the African heritage month in Colombia. The second activity involves a donation of objects to the museum by the Foundation from the Bertrand collection to augment the collection of objects donated in 1998. Read More >

In 1998 Professor Bertrand was approached by officials from the national museum of Colombia, located in Bogota. The Museum Director was concerned that she did not have any objects from Africa that reflected the culture of a large part of the Colombian population. She asked for a donation and through the Heritage Arts Foundation in New Orleans a donation from the Bertrand collection was made. A very successful opening and exhibition followed. Read More >

This is a report of my visit to the national museums of the Congo in Kinshasa during the period June 1 to June 8, 2022. There had been communication between myself and the museum Director regarding the possibility of donating objects from my collection back to the museum and helping museum personnel acquire other objects from collectors in the United States and elsewhere. After discussions with the museum personnel, some of whom I knew from years past, it became clear that another major issue was the ongoing budgetary need to keep the museum operating and maintained. After a preliminary meeting with old employees of the museum and current individuals working there, I arranged a visit to the museum on Saturday, June 4, 2022. Read More >