African History

Many Europeans would agree that African art inspired Picasso, Juan Gris, Arman, Braque, Matisse, Kandinsky, Kirchner, Modigliani, Paul Klee, Moore and Giacometti and others but they do not realize or take into account that some of these masterpieces now held in Europe could also inspire young African artists who now have no chance of seeing the masterpieces of their culture. By Kwame Opoku. [Full Text Article]

Ce 18 juillet 2008, Nelson Mandela fête ses 90 ans. Un événement dont le symbole dépasse la simple matérialisation du temps qui passe. Marquer cette étape, c’est magnifier la vie et l’œuvre d’un homme qui a fini d’entrer dans l’Histoire. Par Tidiane Kassé. [Pambazuka]

Kwame Opoku comments on the “Songs of Praise” for the British Museum. We have witnessed within the last few days a spate of articles, all praising in fulsome language the British Museum and its director, Neil MacGregor. It can be assumed that the publication of these article within such a short period is no sheer coincidence but part of a carefully orchestrated campaign to boost the popularity of the British Museum and the prestige of its director. But why now? (more…)

Kwame Opoku reviews Ben Macintyre’s article “Let’s all have tickets to the universal museum”, published in Timesonline, July 10, 2008. He concludes that it is one of those articles appearing regularly in Western media, appearing to espouse an internationalism and a universalism that, at first sight would appeal to many persons. However, on reflection, one realizes that, perhaps without consciously desiring to do so, they propagate a very narrow vision of the world and are generally oblivious of the needs and feelings of other peoples and cultures in the world. (more…)

Kwame Opoku comments on the article “How one cultural vision has lessons for the whole world” by Tristram Hunt, a Lecturer in History at University of London. The mentioned article was published in the Observer, July 6, 2008. (more…)

Kwame Opoku critically looks at James Cuno’s recent statements regarding “credible museums” and “non-credible museums” and asks what precisely Cuno means by these terms remembering that recent events have shown that major and prestigious museums in the USA cannot be trusted to have acquired their antiquities in an entirely legal mode. (more…)

Boubacar Boris Diop rend hommage à Ousmane Sembène, qui nous a quittés le 9 juin 2007, sans avoir jamais assigné la moindre limite à son mépris du qu’en-dira-t-on. A quatre-vingt-cinq ans, il se sentait si bien dans sa peau, qu’il se faisait appeler par dérision, l’«Aîné des Anciens». Le fait est, cependant, qu’il a vécu très longtemps en réussissant à préserver sa jeunesse d’esprit. [Pambazuka]

In order to deny States the right to control excavations on their land and to prevent them from claiming ownership of artefacts found in their countries, James Cuno, Director of the Art Institute of Chicago, in his new book goes so far as to deny any continuity between the peoples of present States and those of ancient civilizations. [Full Text Article, pdf]

Article by Horace Campbell about the 30 years commemoration of the historic battle of Cuito Cuanavale, when Angola, Cuba, the forces of SWAPO and the ANC joined forces to defeat the apartheid army. Although the ANCs visit to Angola was much publicized thousands of youths in Southern Africa do not know what happened at Cuito Cuanavale and the linkage between the decolonization of Southern Africa and this historic battle. [Pambazuka]

Hermann Giliomee offers a historical account of how Afrikaans reached the position described by Heinz Kloss, Jean Laponce and Lawrence Schlemmer. It also asks why there is a real risk that it may disappear as a public language over the medium to long term.
[Full Text Article, pdf]

In this essay, Horace Campbell looks at the importance of Africa Liberation Day, its changing relevances as Africans are betrayed by the architects of first independence and how, through struggle, we can reclaim and fulfill its promise. [Pambazuka]

Der sozialistische Revolutionär Thomas Sankara wandte sich gegen neokoloniale Strukturen und kam, nach nur vier Amtsjahren, bei einem Staatsstreich ums Leben. Fidèle Kientega, ehemaliger Weggefährte Sankaras, sprach mit Karl Rössel über die Zeit vor und nach der Revolution. Erschienen in iz3w. (more…)

In the case of request for restitution of stolen objects in the British Museum, the question of legal ownership - a question which is fundamental to all claims of property - is not even posed. The main question here is whether the British Museum can afford to dispense with the object in question i.e. whether it can and will de-accession the object. By Kwame Opoku. [Full Text Article, pdf]

We have in previous articles raised the issue of copyright in stolen African cultural objects that are now in European and American museums and the profit the museums are making by the granting of permission to use images of these objects or to film them. (more…)

En avril 2008, le monde commémore pour la quatorzième fois le génocide des Tutsi du Rwanda. Les victimes de ce génocide sont estimées à plus d’un million de personnes. Mais comme l’a dit à juste titre la Chambre d’appel du Tribunal Pénal International pour le Rwanda (TPIR), on ne connaîtra peut-être jamais le nombre exact de ces victimes. Par François-Xavier Nsanzuwera. [Pambazuka]

It is becoming increasingly clear that many of the European museum directors are not very convinced of the soundness of the arguments they present in favour of the retention of stolen African cultural objects by their museums. Article by Kwame Opoku. (more…)

We are reading almost on a daily basis some comment or reply by a European or an American museum director in defence of the holding of stolen cultural objects or objects illegally exported from other countries and now in their museums. However, these defences seem so patently weak or unconvincing that one wonders how people in such positions can argue as they do. Article by Kwame Opoku. (more…)

In this article, Kwame Opoku asks: How did African objects like Queen Nefertiti or Idia come all the way to Europe and why have they not been returned? Most of the African art objects now in European and American museums came there as a result of some illegality or some dubious means during slavery, colonialism and our present neo-colonial times. [Full Text Article, pdf]

Yav Katshung Joseph argues that as truth commissions multiply around the world it is important to look at their relationship to prosecutions and justice in an immediate and historical sense. Are TRC’s designed to generate more truth, more justice, reparations, and genuine institutional reform? Or are they designed to undermine the State’s and society’s legal, ethical and political obligations to their people? [Pambazuka]

It seems, Kwame Opoku argues, as if the colonial past of many European museums will keep haunting them for a considerable time and in the foreseeable future as they try to come to grips with the implications of the colonial enterprise for the activities of museums. (more…)