28.08.2024New exhibition now open

Full house at the opening of "Benin Dues. Dealing with Looted Royal Treasures"

Many of the numerous participants at the opening of "Benin Dues". Photo: Caroline Krajcir. — Many of the numerous collaborators of the exhibition at the opening of "Benin Dues". Photo: Caroline Krajcir.

In the exhibition, we present 18 objects from the Kingdom of Benin in present-day Nigeria and show how they ended up in Switzerland. Of these objects, 14 probably originate from the looting of the royal palace in 1897. Representatives of the Edo diaspora in Switzerland and members of the African Students Association of Zurich ASAZ show in the exhibition what significance this cultural heritage has for them today and how they would like to deal with the objects and their violent history.

We were touched by the speeches of Yahya Muhammad, representative of the Nigerian Embassy, Amowie Oreoghene, representative of the Edo United Club of Switzerland, Alix Lawson and Salim Umar, curators for the African Students Association of Zurich, Mareile Flitsch, director, and Alexis Malefakis, curator.

We would like to thank our partners, colleagues, friends and families for the wonderful atmosphere and inspiring conversations – they are still resonating!

Fotos: Caroline Krajcir