Against a willing amnesia
Two books, by art historian Bénédicte Savoy and journalist Barnaby Phillips respectively, detail how we got to this point in the restitution of African heritage.
Benin
International thief thief
There can no longer be false justifications for holding Benin Bronzes, and other pilfered materials, in museums outside of Africa.
The specter of Mannetjies Roux
An encounter on a cross continental flight with white South African men and their ways, by Robina Marks, a black woman and South Africa’s ambassador in Benin.
What comes after art repatriation
We all want to see Africa's heritage repatriated to the continent. But what happens after it returns?
The Museum of Black Civilizations
France no longer has an excuse to hold on to Senegal's cultural heritage. Senegal has a place for it.
The artist as citizen
An interview with Abdellah Karroum is the artistic director of the Biennale Regard Benin 2012, which premise is “Inventing the World: the Artist as Citizen.”
If dolls never die, neither does their past
The artist Gérard Quenum's work suggest that society’s collective bad parenting and maltreatment cannot ever, completely ransack the spirit.
Music Break
“A part James Brown, vive Poly-Rythmo!” Or, “James Brown aside, viva Poly-Rythmo. That’s what the youth