29.10.2024"Dealing with Looted Royal Treasures": A Forum on the Benin Artefacts

Three years of research and two ongoing exhibitions were the Forum's backdrop: The Benin Initiative Switzerland (BIS) laid the foundation; the Museum Rietberg's exhibition "In Dialogue with Benin" and our exhibition  "Benin Dues" present the issue to a wider audience. On 26 October 2024, experts from Nigeria and from Europe met at the Museum Rietberg to talk about what should come next.

Olugbile Holloway, Director General of the National Commission for Museums and Monuments of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, reminded the audience of the urgency with which the question of restitution needs to be resolved: "To museum professionals in Europe, the Benin Bronzes may simply represent another artifact to display behind glass. But for the people of Nigeria—and especially those in Benin—they are alive and deeply woven into the fabric of their very existence. It is important to apply this sensitivity to the discussion and therefore to move forward with a sense of urgency."

The museum's collections are owned by the city of Zurich (Museum Rietberg) and the University of Zurich, an independent institution, which belongs to the canton (Ethnographic Museum); so a restitution is eventually up to the respective authorities.

The Forum aroused great public and even activist interest: The event was fully booked.

Völkerkundemuseum UZH