Western Museums Are Finally Reconsidering Their African Collections
Artnet Gathered 3 Experts to Explain Why—and What Needs to Happen Next
Artnet Magazine convened Fowler Director Marla C. Berns, Dan Hicks, and Victor Ehikhamenor to discuss why Western museums are finally considering restitution of African artworks.
"After many decades of inaction, many museums in the West have been forced to recognize that tucked into their storage facilities are a stunning array of wonders that were forcibly taken from the Benin Royal Palace in 1897 by the British on a so-called punitive expedition.
Plaques that form part of the Benin Bronzes are displayed at The British Museum in London, England. Photo: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images. And now, finally, changes seem to be underway.
After the publication of a groundbreaking report in France by Felwine Sarr and Benedicte Savoy advising President Emmanuel Macron to return the Benin Bronzes in national collections, a portal opened, catalyzing other European nations to do the same. Suddenly, after so much silence, restitution finally seems like a real possibility.
Germany, which has some of the largest collections of the Benin bronzes after the U.K., announced last month it would begin returns in 2022. It is likely that many of the work will end up in the David Adjaye-designed Edo Museum of West African Art after it opens in 2025.
To better understand this critical turning point, Artnet News brought together three key figures for a conversation about the restitution of the Benin bronzes: Victor Ehikhamenor, a Lagos-based artist and trustee of the Legacy Restoration Trust, an organization working on the Benin bronzes’ return; Pitt Rivers Museum curator Dan Hicks, author of The Brutish Museums; and Marla Berns, director of the Fowler Museum in Los Angeles."— Kate Brown, Jun. 8, 2021
This post is an excerpt. Read the full article on the artnet news website.
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