Panel discussion "The future of restitution" June 13, 2024

© TUD; Drawing: Filipa Pontes

The return of 26 famous works of art from the former Kingdom of Dahomey to the present-day Republic of Benin in 2021 is considered a historic moment in the history of restitution. The objects had been brought to France as colonial looted art at the end of the 19th century; it was not until 2017 that President Emmanuel Macron promised to return looted cultural property. The public debates this sparked and the beginning of the fulfillment of this promise opened the door to further restitutions. In Germany, too, the decolonization of museum collections has been advanced since then, and cultural artifacts have been returned—for example, the so-called Benin Bronzes from Saxony, which the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden (Dresden State Art Collections) returned to Nigeria at the end of 2022.

But what complex processes lie behind these returns? What cultural-political and societal challenges are associated with them? Felwine Sarr and Bénédicte Savoy have pointed out that the restitution of cultural artifacts requires a “new ethic of relationships.” To what extent can restitution foster new transcultural networks, collaborations, and relationships? And what does the future of restitution ultimately look like—what potential does it hold?

To mark the one-year DAAD visiting professorship of Didier Houénoudé, an internationally renowned art historian and expert on restitution from the Université d’Abomey-Calavi in Benin, the Institute of Art and Music at TUD Dresden University of Technology hosted a panel discussion.

Joining Didier Houénoudé in the discussion were:

Léontine Meijer-van Mensch, Director of the State Ethnographic Collections within the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden (Dresden State Art Collections)

Doreen Mende, Head of the cross-collection “Research” Department at the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden (Dresden State Art Collections) and Professor at HEAD-Genève HES-SO, Switzerland

Bénédicte Savoy, Chair of History of Art at the Technical University of Berlin

The discussion was moderated by Kerstin Schankweiler, Professor of
Visual Studies in a Global Context at the TUD Dresden University of Technology.

WHEN? June 13, 2024, 5:30–7:00 p.m.
WHERE? Institute of Art and Music, Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Science at TU Dresden

The CFF provided staffing support through our Student Assistants before and after the event.

Photo Gallery: Panel Discussion “The Future of Restitution” June 13, 2024