Heritage of Theft: On Museums and Cultural Restitution
- Talks & More
An online panel discussion with curators Candice Hopkins and Dan Hicks, moderated by curator Julie Crooks.
Anthropological and encyclopaedic museums are intrinsically connected to colonial strategies and violent histories, perpetuating prejudiced worldviews and exclusionary methodologies. In a discussion focused on contentious collecting and preservation practices rooted in extractive imperialism and systematic looting, curators Candice Hopkins, Dan Hicks and Julie Crooks will consider frameworks for the restitution of art and material culture. Examining the ethics of care within museological institutions and the role curators play in telling and repairing complicated histories, this panel seeks to propose tools for decolonizing museums and envisioning new exhibition strategies.
Presented in conjunction with the Koffler Gallery exhibition, A Heap of Random Sweepings in which artist Sameer Farooq creates a meditative space to envision what the museum might become through the mechanics of restitution, what it may shift to collect and document, and what kind of experiences it could nurture.
