A conversation between Benedicte Savoy, one of the world's foremost experts on restitution and cultural heritage, and visual culture theorist and activist, Nicholas Mirzoeff, on Savoy's new book.. In her book, Savoy reconstructs the initial restitution debate in Europe, which started in the 1960s when African intellectuals, politicians, and museum professionals called for the return of royal and sacred artworks stolen by European colonial forces, and the fierce resistance these calls were met with in Europe. The conversation will focus on how many of the arguments and talking points that have dominated public discourse around restitution in recent years were developed and honed by European collecting institutions since the 1960s, what roles "historical mechanisms of forgetting, renunciation, and silence" have played in the process, and why restitution is fundamental to any future relationship between African countries and the West.
New York City, NY; NYC