Paper short abstract:

This paper is based on a strong reading of what constitutes the struggles of museums in Belgium and the DR Congo in the era of the restitution demand. My contribution will analyse how restitution as a struggle for decolonization is managed by museums and different actors in Congo and Belgium.

Paper long abstract:

The restitution of cultural heritage is currently one of the biggest struggles for European and African museums. In Belgium, the process was triggered by two major facts. On the one hand, the French report on restitution which stated that 'more than 90% of African cultural heritage is outside Africa' (Sarr Savoy: 2018) and on the other hand the Black Lives Matter movement after the death of George Floyd. Both events provoked outrage among Afro-descendants, as they saw the possession of colonial collections as a continuation of colonial domination and justification of the systemic racism present in Belgium. The possession of cultural property as political power is not new, it stems from the justification that was constructed around the 1950s during which the Royal Museum for Central Africa in Tervuren was a key actor in the justification of the colonial presence in Congo in its role as 'protector of the cultural heritage of Congo' (Sarah Van Beurden: 2015). This continuity is present through the policies of museum reform in Belgium and the museum management structure in the DRCongo. By dialectical approach, I will first start from the intertwined history between the Royal Museum for Central Africa and the Institute of National Museums of Congo. Then I will discuss the struggles of museums in the DR Congo and Belgium according to the restitution of cultural heritage and the quest for the meaning and (re)meaning of museums for Congolese and Afro-descendants. Finally, I will discuss the prospects for cooperation arise from my fieldwork.