Short Abstract:

The restitution of African cultural heritage is an on-going issue at the heart of many discussions in political, cultural and academic circles, however, it currently has many limits. The panel aims to rehink the issue by going 'beyond the objects' and questionning aspects that are often overlooked.

Long Abstract:

The restitution of African cultural heritage is a tangled topic which is gaining traction in Europe after decades of pressure from African scholars and activists. At first glance, it appears to be a great example of a decolonial practice which has the potential to address long-lasting inequalities, violent colonial pasts and extensive cultural extractivism perpetrated by European societies. However, the current state of the restitution issue leaves much to be desired, notably because only few items were actually returned. Even when counting temporary loans, transfers of ownership and official promises, the number stays rather low and clashes with the expectations. Moreover, the current focus is heavily centred on material heritage and prominent artefacts, such as the Benin Bronzes. As such, the scope of the issue is drastically reduced and is conceived as the transferring of some objects and their ownership from one country to another. One way to fight this simplification is to deconstruct and to rethink our understanding of restitution by going beyond the objects and including its immaterial dimensions, too often neglected. The panel will therefore addres these issues, which include the cultural impact of the long absence and subsequent return of these objects (i. e. the Benin Bronzes in Nigeria), the lasting colonial dimensions of museums in Europe and in Africa, immaterial heritage (i. e. audio recordings of African societies and colonial photographic heritage), and the creation of narratives on the restitution issue in media and their impact on the restitution processes.