The German Lost Art Foundation in cooperation with CARMAH (Centre for Anthropological Research on Museums and Heritage) invites you to the next event within the series „Kolloquium Provenienzforschung“.

On Thursday, 20 February 2025, at 5 pm, we will be presenting the recently published book „Resist, Reclaim, Retrieve. The Long History of the Struggle for the Restitution of Cultural Heritage and Ancestral Remains Taken under Colonial Conditions“, edited by Larissa Förster, Jan Hüsgen and Sarah Fründt and issued as part of the publication series “Provenire“ (Verlag De Gruyter, 2025). The event will take place at CARMAH, Möhrenstr. 40/41, 10117 Berlin in Room 408.

One hundred years ago, in 1925, the so-called Mafue Stone was returned to Liberia. Consul General Momolu Massaquoi, who lived in Hamburg, won one of the first legal disputes over the return of cultural property to an African country. This example illustrates that the demands for return and restitution are by no means new, but have been made by various actors for many decades. Sometimes successful, often (still) failing, they are an expression of resistance, reappraisal and the need for justice. 

In the present volume, researchers and experts from the Global South and North present case studies from the last 100 years and analyse significant moments and dynamics. Based on this, we ask questions such as: Why is this long-standing struggle for the return of cultural belongings and human remains often overlooked? What can we learn from its long history? And where does the restitution debate stand today? What political processes are currently taking place? How are they assessed from the perspective of the Global South? Are there any ambitious restitution demands currently underway? Who are the driving forces?

After a brief presentation of the book’s content and intention by the editors Larissa Förster (Weltkulturen Museum Frankfurt) and Jan Hüsgen (German Lost Art Foundation), Anna Valeska Strugalla (Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich) and Richard Tsogang Fossi (Technical University Berlin) will present their own external perspectives on the work. This will be followed by a panel discussion titled: “And now? Or: not another hundred years!” with Anna Valeska Strugalla, Richard Tsogang Fossi and Sarah Fründt (German Lost Art Foundation), moderated by Yann LeGall (Technical University Berlin).

The event will be held in English. Afterwards we hope to continue the discussion while inviting you to some small refreshments.

Contact:

Deutsches Zentrum Kulturgutverluste
Stiftung bürgerlichen Rechts
Humboldtstraße 12 | 39112 Magdeburg
Telefon +49 (0) 391 727 763 23
E-Mail: veranstaltungen(at)kulturgutverluste.de