It's no secret that a vast proportion of artworks, sculptures, paintings and other cultural artefacts across Africa were seized by European nations during colonial times. These objects are stored in England, France, Austria and The Netherland’s most popular museums. As early as the 60s, many African countries have called for the return of these cultural and historical relics to the place in which they were created.
For Africans, these pieces are much more than mere trinkets. The desire to have these objects returned is about rediscovering forgotten heritage, healing the wounds of oppression and rebuilding what was lost to colonialism. Losing these items meant losing spiritual practices, cultural customs and history for many communities. The Benin Bronzes are a case in point. The Benin Bronzes are a collection of: statues, plagues, figurines and ornaments made of bronze, brass, ivory, leather and wood in the West African Kingdom of Benin, South of present-day Nigeria. New pieces were crafted in honour of newly crowned Obas / Kings as part of their coronation. The plaques document the history of the Kingdom which is believed to have existed at least as early as the 1500s.
For decades, calls for the continent's belongings to be returned seemed blocked out, but the calls have only grown louder and more powerful with an increasing number of organisations, communities and activists - heroes - who are unwavering in their pursuit of restitution. The Benin Dialogue Group and Mwazulu Diyabanza are just two of many involved in the movement.
The Benin Dialogue Group
Established in 2007, the Benin Dialogue Group aims to assemble museum officials from the UK, Austria, Sweden, Germany and the Netherlands in partnership with officials from the Royal Court of Benin and the Nigerian government. The group aims to build a museum in Benin City that will house all of Benin’s returned historical artefacts and display the city’s ancient and contemporary works of art. As of March 2023, the group had much to celebrate as they managed to secure sponsorship for the building of a storage facility in Nigeria.
Mwazulu Diyabanza
Emery Mwazulu Diyabanza, age 45, is a Congolese political activist born in the capital city of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Kinshasa. He had been taught about colonialism and the looting of resources and artefacts in the DRC from as early as he could remember. As a result, Diyabanza, and his associates from the UDC (Unité Dignité Courage) which is a Pan-African group, strive to bring awareness to their cause by collecting objects from Museums across Europe and returning them to Africa. This, of course, has landed them in sticky situations with the law, but that won’t stop them from advocating until they see real change. It’s no surprise that he is dubbed as the Robin Hood of restitution.
The ongoing quest for Africa to be united with what rightfully belongs to it seems heavy, but it is not without hope. Mmakgabo Helen Sebidi - born in 1943 in Pretoria, South Africa - is a notable artist both locally and internationally. With what she believed to be the guidance of her ancestors, Sebidi worked tirelessly to create a collection of art she named ‘Ntlo E Tsamayang’ which means The Walking House. In 1991, she was invited - along with other South African artists - to display her works at a Swedish art exhibition. In an awful twist of fate, all 32 of her paintings vanished inexplicably. It was only in 2023, three decades later, that Sebidi received the good news. Most of her collection was found and returned to her. Her collection is on display at the University of Johannesburg Art Gallery for May 2024.
Although winning in the struggle for the repatriation of Africa’s artworks felt impossible, with European governments and museums closing ranks, the switch has flipped. The unwavering pursuit of the reclamation of Africa’s historical and cultural belongings is quickly gaining traction and it seems as though Western museums and governments are finally willing to listen and negotiate. Museums across Europe and the United States have already begun working to return some of the Benin bronzes and other objects back to Nigerian and other African countries, but this is just the beginning.
