Small Victories in the Restitution "Wars"

Of the few small victories during this past decade of renewedscholarly activism, public pressure, and tactical diplomacy about the Ancient Benin royal objects in western museums and collections, the most significant, strategically, perhaps, is getting major keepers of these treasures to formally acknowledge them as LOOTED by including this historical fact in the object labels. It used to be that their provenance began with names of the first white men to inherit or purchase the stolen objects from whom they made their way into the museum. 

Standing in the British Museum's Sainsbury Africa Galleries, and eavesdropping on many a visitors' judgments on the ethics of imperial looting as they surveyed the display, I am confident that the final word on the long term fate of the captive objects will be different. May be not in my lifetime, but some day after.

In the meantime, now that Labour is power in the UK, I hope they do not continue the awful attitude of the Conservatives who saw the matter of restitution as their cheap football for their impoverished culture wars. For the trustees of US museums, it is high time they get off their post-imperial high horses!

2024 African Studies Association Distinguished Lecture

 

ACASA Triennial 2024 Open Session: Best Practices for Restitution and Care of African Art in US Museums

Since the previous Triennial in 2021, a group of over seventy ACASA members and international experts have worked together to produce a best practices document for the restitution and ethical care of African arts in United States museum collections. In a special session of the 2024 ACASA Triennial, the leaders of this project will present the final document to the public and discuss how it was crafted. Presenters will reflect on how this group assessed case studies and set criteria for returns. Speakers will also share the next steps intended to ensure that procedures outlined in the document are attainable for all museums.   Please forward this information to anyone who may be interested in attending:    11:15am-1:15pm CT Friday, August 9, 2024 DePaul Conference Center & Zoom Free and Open to the Public Zoom Information: Meeting ID: 83770192148 Passcode: 847700

Zoom Link

Please contact Caroline Bastian, ACASA Project Manager, for any questions or comments at bastian@acasaonline.org.