The last few years have seen seismic shifts in the thinking around the restitution of objects held in institutions of the North to African countries. Yet, few objects have actually physically moved. We ask ourselves if this inertia is due to more than just politics and economics. Perhaps it is due to a lack of imagination. How can stories about the fate and ghosts of return help us imagine a future of restitution? Reparation? Home?
Read MoreJoin us for an online screening of the film "If Objects Could Speak" followed by a panel discussion including the filmmakers and members of IIP January 13th, at 6 pm CET / 8pm EAT.
Read MoreSHIFT invites Nora Al-Badri and Brian Njenga for a public discussion at Weltkulturen Museum in Frankfurt on the intersection of 3D modelling, activism, digital reproduction, access, ownership and museums. Come by on 5th of December at 2pm.
Read MoreAfter three months on display, the Invisible Inventories exhibition at the Rautenstrauch-Joest Museum in Cologne is already coming to an end. On the 29th of August the International Inventories Programme is organizing the closing event: the 8th Object Movement Dialogue.
Read MoreWith his photo-essay "Lightning Strikes The Obelisk", IIP member Simon Rittmeier addresses an international case of repatriation in examining the lengthy case of the famous Obelisk of Axum restituted from Italy to Ethiopia in 2005. The website is based on photographs that were taken in Rome / Italy and is an expanding part of the installation he presented during the Nairobi exhibition. Check it out!
Read MoreIIP Member Jim Chuchu recently gave a TED-Talk! Learn more about our extensive work tracking and restoring Kenya's cultural heritage and what these efforts can mean for the wider African continent. An urgent call for institutions to reconsider the morality of the objects they "own" and their significance to the communities from which they were taken.
Read MoreNow that COVID-Restrictions have lifted we are fianally able to invite you to our programme of public tours through our exhibtion in Cologne Invisible Inventories: Questioning Kenyan Collections in Western Museums (28.5.- 29.8.2021 ). The will be offered by the museum and led by educators, members of the IIP-Team and some special guests. We look forward to seeing you!
Read MoreWhilst we are counting down the last days of our exhibition in Nairobi, everybody is hard at work preparing to open the Invisible Inventories exhibition on May 28th in Cologne. To celebrate the opening, there will be a live online event on May 27th, starting at 7pm CET/8pm EAT.
Read MoreThe IIP held its 7th Object Movement Dialogue (OMD) session with community leaders and representatives on April 21st. The session focused on how cultural artifacts were taken from the communities of origin and what the effects of their absence have been.
Read MoreOur digital programme continues with an Artist Talk with artists from The Nest Collective, SHIFT Collective and TUZI, that are featured in the Invisible Inventories exhibition. They discuss their process, working within the IIP group and the larger questions they asked themselves on the way.
Read MoreYou can now experience the Invisible Inventories exhibition in Nairobi virtually through a tour by the Nest Collective members Njoki Ngumi and Jim Chuchu. Watch it here!
Read MoreWe are happy to announce that the catalogue of the project, in the form of a magazine, is just off the press! Published in English and in German by iwalewabooks (Bayreuth/Johannesburg) and Kwani (Nairobi), the contributions from IIP members and Kenyan museum professionals and practitioners critically reflect museum and restitution politics but also the limits of the cooperation between African and Europeans museums.
Read MoreThe Invisible Inventories Exhibition opens at the National Museums of Kenya on Thursday 18th March 2021. Three years in the making, and combining scientific research and artistic practice, the exhibition reflects on the absence of Kenyan cultural objects…
Read MoreWe are happy to announce that the 6th edition of the now virtual Object Movement Dialogues (and the last of the year!) is a partnership: we're in collaboration with the incredible folks at Open Restitution Africa, and their monthly Restitution Dialogues webinar series! The title of this collaborative event is ’Actions on Object Return in Africa’. Moderated by The Nest Collective’s Dr. Njoki Ngumi, the conversation will feature Nana Oforiatta Ayim, a writer, art historian, filmmaker and the founder of the dynamic Ano Institution of Arts and Knowledge in Ghana.
Read MoreOn the 15th of October 2020, we were thrilled to host the 5th edition Object Movement Dialogues titled ‘Imagining Beyond Imperialism’—this was also our first virtual edition! Moderated by Dr. Njoki Ngumi, the conversation was between two wonderful people: Chao Tayiana (co-founder of Open Restitution Africa and Museum of British Colonialism) and Olivia Windham-Stewart (co-founder of the Museum of British Colonialism).
Read MoreThe Nest Collective’s Dr. Njoki Ngumi had a great, insightful conversation with the Open Restitution team for the launch of the Open Restitution Africa Project on their YouTube live webinar this past September, where they dove deep into the topic of restitution, museum values and their processes. We were thrilled to have this conversation with 2 amazing women: Kenya’s Chao Tayiana and South Africa’s Molemo Moiloa, who started Open Restitution Africa because of the great need to have more open and honest conversations around restitution.
Read MoreThe team came together for a 4-day online workshop to present the works in progress for the pending exhibition, and discuss the movement of objects and exhibits between the Weltkulturen Museum (WKM) in Frankfurt, the Rautenstrauch-Joest Museum (RJM) in Cologne and the National Museums of Kenya for the three exhibitions…
Read MoreOn November 29th 2019, the IIP team were happy to host our fourth public debate at the Nairobi National Museum's Kenya Hall, where partnership members National Museums of Kenya (represented by Mr. George Juma) gave presentations to members of the public and press on our activities since the project launch, as well as details of our new exhibition project - Invisible Inventories.
Read MoreIIP press release #02, released on November 19, 2019, to announce the launch of the Invisible Inventories project - a 2 year exhibition and research project in Kenya and Germany - on the 28th of November 2019 at the National Museums in Nairobi.
Read MoreThe International Inventories Programme will host its fourth members workshop in Nairobi between the 25th and 29th of November. This week long workshop will provide a framework to discuss current progress and research findings, as well as forge the continuing collaboration between IIP members on our new exhibition project - Invisible Inventories - and introduce new members to the project.
Read More
