Can we ever decolonise museums? | The Stream

Key Concepts

Museums as Colonial Institutions: The idea that many museums were established as part of colonial enterprises to house looted artifacts.
Provenance: The history of ownership of an object, crucial for understanding its origin and how it ended up in a museum.
Decolonization of Museums: The process of addressing and rectifying the colonial legacy within museums, including returning artifacts and re-evaluating narratives.
Post-Museum: A concept suggesting that the only true act of decolonization for Western museums is to move beyond their current structure.
Savior Narrative: The argument that colonial powers "saved" artifacts by identifying them as art and preserving them.
Heritage vs. Art: The distinction often made by Western institutions, where European creations are deemed "art" while non-European creations are categorized as "heritage."
Decontextualization: The act of removing an object from its original cultural and historical context, often seen as a consequence of museum display.
Intergenerational Trauma: The lasting psychological and social impacts of historical events like colonialism that are passed down through generations.

Museums: History and Culture or Trophy Rooms of Empire?

This discussion explores the complex and often controversial role of museums in contemporary society, questioning whether they serve as neutral repositories of history and culture or as enduring symbols of imperial conquest and exploitation. The conversation highlights the problematic origins of many museum collections, formed during colonial eras, and examines the ongoing debates surrounding repatriation and the decolonization of these institutions.

The Problematic Nature of Museums

Shaheen Kasmani articulates a "love-hate relationship" with museums, pointing out that they are fundamentally designed as colonial institutions. She emphasizes that many museums house "colonial loot" acquired through theft, with a significant lack of acknowledgment regarding the provenance and the often violent stories of how these objects arrived in their current locations. Kasmani argues that museums often claim to be neutral spaces, but this neutrality is questionable given their historical context and the passive voice used in their descriptions, which she believes serves to "delete" crucial parts of an object's history.

Kotus Ahmed strongly agrees that museums cannot be neutral spaces. He posits that museums are inherently narratives, shaped by the immense cost and effort involved in their creation and collection. These endeavors are not undertaken by "uninterested actors," making neutrality impossible. Ahmed suggests that the critical question is not whether museums are neutral, but rather "what is the story being told by each museum" and how it relates to the museum's origins and its global connections. He traces the concept of museums back to the late Renaissance and early modernity, where the idea of "bringing the world together in one place" emerged. This raises the crucial question of "who are us?" – whether this includes all of humanity or a specific subgroup, and how the world is represented in these display cases.

The Concept of Decolonization

The discussion delves into the concept of decolonizing museums, referencing the work of Frances. According to this perspective, the "crime of the Western museum" lies not just in exhibiting looted artifacts but in its very birth during the 18th-century Euro-Enlightenment, which believed Europe was the sole arbiter of humanity's history. Museums, in this view, were born as colonial enterprises to justify colonial expansion, crimes, dispossession, and exploitation.

Shaheen Kasmani clarifies that decolonization begins with returning objects and resources, which is what decolonization fundamentally means. However, she argues that it extends beyond mere repatriation. It involves museums telling the truth about the objects' origins and the reasons for their return. Kasmani also points to the internal structures of museums, questioning whether staff are treated equitably. Furthermore, she highlights the issue of museum sponsorship by entities like oil companies, which are linked to climate change and its devastating impacts, drawing a parallel to the ongoing effects of colonization. The situation in Gaza is also brought up as a contemporary example of how the concept of preserving history clashes with the reality of ongoing destruction and dispossession. Kasmani suggests that objects might be preserving the "myth of the museum" and its self-perceived superiority.

Arguments Against Repatriation

Kotus Ahmed addresses the arguments often used by museums to resist returning artifacts. He identifies two primary narratives:

The Savior Narrative: This argument posits that if not for European powers identifying and defining these objects as art, they would not have been preserved. Ahmed likens this to the broader "savior narrative" employed during colonial contexts worldwide, where European powers claimed to rescue indigenous populations or cultures.
The Heritage vs. Art Distinction: Ahmed points out the problematic tendency for Europeans to label their creations as "art" while categorizing non-European creations as "heritage." This distinction, he argues, is often made by European critics, conservators, and curators, implying a double standard. He questions the authority of these individuals to make such value judgments, especially when such pronouncements would be considered problematic within contemporary European art circles.

The Louv Heist and Reclamation

The transcript references a high-profile heist at the Louvre, where crown jewels were stolen. The reaction to this event is presented through a quote that reframes the act not as a crime but as a "reclamation." This perspective argues that robbing a museum filled with stolen artifacts from the Global South is not a crime as long as colonialism itself is not recognized as a crime against humanity. The quote challenges the notion of "stealing" being universally criminal, suggesting it is only considered so when committed by certain groups. It asserts that Western institutions are built on theft and that the idea of colonialists taking artifacts for better care is a form of gaslighting. The quote draws parallels to ongoing thefts of minerals, land, and gold in various parts of the world, arguing that if one does not speak out against these, they should not speak about the theft from the Louvre.

The Emotional Impact of Displayed Heritage

Shaheen Kasmani describes the complex feelings of people when their heritage is displayed in glass boxes in Western museums. While there is an acknowledgment of seeing part of one's heritage, the inability to get close to it and the "purposeful not including" of its history by the establishment is seen as "another violence." She highlights the awareness of the objects being stolen, the violence and trauma involved in their acquisition, and the intergenerational impacts of these events. The experience is a "real mixture," involving the appreciation of beauty and sacred meaning, which is "ripped out" in a museum setting, alongside the painful awareness of the ignored history.

The Grand Egyptian Museum and Egyptology

The opening of the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) in Egypt is discussed as a significant event. Kotus Ahmed notes its scale and the effort involved, but more importantly, its role in "redefining or reinventing Egyptian Egyptology." He contrasts the GEM with the old Egyptian Museum, viewing the latter as a product of "colonial Egyptology" from the 19th and early 20th centuries. Ahmed points out that the old museum's courtyard features busts of the "godfathers of Egyptology," predominantly European figures, with no Egyptian faces. He acknowledges that Egyptology was initially a European endeavor but emphasizes the ongoing research uncovering the contributions of numerous Egyptian scholars, activists, and bureaucrats who advocated for Egyptology "for Egyptians and by Egyptians."

The Likelihood of Repatriation

Shaheen Kasmani expresses pessimism regarding the return of iconic artifacts like Nefertiti's bust, the Rosetta Stone, and the Elgin Marbles. She notes that campaigns for repatriation have been ongoing for years with persistent "red tape." While some universities have returned objects, such decisions often require high-level government approval. Kasmani suggests that significant changes in laws or potentially more "heists" might be necessary for these returns to occur.

The Role of Repatriation in Healing

Kotus Ahmed believes that returning artifacts can "repair some wounds" of history but will not "repair the entire experience and trauma of coloniality." He asserts that "fixing the narrative" will have a more profound healing effect.

Favorite Museums

When asked about their favorite museums, Kotus Ahmed names the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, with a potential to be surpassed by the new Grand Egyptian Museum. Shaheen Kasmani chooses the V&A in London for its objects but highlights the District Six Museum in Cape Town, South Africa, for its narrative.