Decolonization in museums is one of the most actively discussed issues both in the arts and heritage community and in the public sphere. It is a debate that has been related to museums and heritage since its emergence in the former Western colonies in the 1970s and has recently been brought to the attention of the general public through events such as President Macron’s stated commitment to restoring Africa’s heritage and the Black Lives Matter movement. Museums, particularly in Europe and the United States, have launched a number of decolonization initiatives, launching research projects, organizing exhibitions exploring links to slavery and colonial conquest, rethinking and re-purposing their permanent collections, and taking concrete action to return artifacts to communities of origin in the Global South. The questions of what decolonization is and what it should be, how the industry should deal with it and what its consequences might be are all being hotly debated by a wide circle of stakeholders and are far from being resolved. They are relevant to any community interested in critically confronting its past and understanding what significance it has in the present. During the session we will address some of these issues in an attempt to understand their resonance in the museum sector, including their relevance in Italy.

Speakers:

• Lucrezia Cippitelli, Chair of Aesthetics, Coordinator Biennium of Visual Cultures, Academy of Fine Arts of Brera, Milan, Co-curator, Kunst Meran, Merano (video contribution)
• Matteo Lucchetti, Curator for Contemporary Arts and Cultures at Museum of Civilizations, Rome / Contemporary Arts and Cultures Curator, at Museum of Civilizations, Rome
• Yasmin Riyahi, The Comrades of Art.

Chair: Evgeniya Ravtsova, International Programmes Manager, Victoria and Albert Museum

The meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, Nov. 15 from 3 to 4 p.m. at the Gauguin Room