Europe confronts its colonial past as movement to return looted relics grows – By Rebecca Falconer (Axios) / Oct 23 2020
A “new generation of curators” is driving change in museums across Europe as nations confront their violent colonial pasts, University of Oxford contemporary archaeology professor Dan Hicks told Axios.
Why it matters: This year’s global anti-racism protests that’ve seen monuments of colonial figures toppled are helping drive the conversation on returning looted colonial-era relics. Hicks said progress has been too slow for many audiences and stakeholders “who want to see endless dialogue give way to action.”
“When the communities we claim to represent start protesting about exhibits, museum curators are most likely getting something wrong.”
— Dan Hicks
Driving the news: “An open-minded, case-by-case approach to restitution claims is increasingly the norm in European nations,” said Hicks, who is among those leading calls to return stolen relics and whose book, “‘The Brutish Museums,” comes out next month, in an email to Axios Tuesday.
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