Entangled Collections: Colonial Histories and the Ethics of Ownership and Stewardship
Channel: UCLA Library
Date: 2022-06-13

May 18, 2022 | Session two of "Contested Collections: Grappling With History and Forging Pathways for Repatriation," a virtual symposium hosted by the UCLA Library's International and Area Studies Department: https://bit.ly/uclal-symposium.

This session provided an overview of the global history of colonialism and its outsized role in the development of cultural heritage collections, particularly in the Western world. Using examples of repatriation to Africa and Southeast Asia, panelists discussed the ethics of ownership and stewardship, the fight by formerly colonized countries to reclaim their heritage, and what constitutes full restitution.

Speakers (in order of appearance):
 
– Alice Procter, art historian and writer
 
– Ndubuisi Ezeluomba, Françoise Billion Richardson Curator of African Art, New Orleans Museum of Art
 
– Panggah Ardiyansyah, PhD candidate, History of Art and Archaeology Department, SOAS University of London
 
– Moderator: Susan Slyomovics, Distinguished Professor of Anthropology and Near Eastern Languages and Cultures, UCLA