The museum was established in 1933, when the Johannesburg Public Library bought a large quantity of Africana material and books from John Gaspard Gubbins.

[3] In 1994, after the fall of apartheid and the election of a representative democratic government in South Africa, the museum was refurbished and renamed MuseuMAfricA.

MuseuMAfrica launched an exhibit entitled "Never, never again" which led to the establishment of the Hector Pieterson Museum in Soweto.

Permanent exhibitions include MyCulture which outlines the different South African cultural and ethnic groups, their origins and how these groups have changed over time;[4]Johannesburg Transformations, highlighting the momentous changes that the city has undergone in its history;[5] and Tried for Treason an exhibition detailing the Rivonia Trial involving 156 defendants, including Nelson Mandela.

[4] During the level 1 lockdown imposed on South Africa during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, museums were closed along with all such public buildings.