On a chilly Saturday afternoon, Belvedere 21 welcomed Khadija Zinnenburg Carroll, Adewole Falade, Verena Melgarejo Weinandt, Bronwyn Lace, Samson Ogiamien, Julian Reinisch (Apex film) to showcase their work for their ERC commissioned project “REPATRIATES: Artistic Research in Museums and Communities in the process of Repatriation from Europe.”
The programme showcased the preliminary cuts of the artists’ individual productions on the progress of museums and its approach to repatriation—a first cut in itself. Marked by artistic presentations, serene music and avant-garde editing, the screenings allowed the audience a glimpse into what was to come from the artists. As the artists breathed life into objects or lent voice to an alter-ego, an unfamiliar polyphony greeted the crowd. Complex protagonists marked the tangled intricacies of looking at repatriation and its political, historical, legal and, perhaps most importantly, emotional implications. The narration, characterized by repetition, cacophony, and a play on words, added a layer of meaning to the loaded visuals. Signalling to what is to come from the artists, these first cuts, or better yet previews, give us a glimpse into the creative process and direction of not just the individual artists, but of the REPATRIATES project. This theme became clearer in the panel that followed where each artist discussed how they transferred agency to the object, thereby allowing viewers a new perspective on the process of repatriation (repair what? repair whom?).
Press
Press Coverage: https://www.dasbiber.at/blog/mit-jeder-rueckgabe-erhalten-die-betroffenen-ein-stueck-wuerde-und-stolz-zurueck
Interview in Kurier: 230126Decolonize_Zinnenburg_Carroll_KURIER
Links
Broad programme link: https://www.belvedere.at/public-program-2023
More detailed newspaper article: https://www.tourismuspresse.at/presseaussendung/TPT_20230110_TPT0003/belvedere-21-das-museum-entkolonialisieren
Calendar post on the Repatriates website: https://repatriates.org/calendar/academic-artistic-and-museological-research/
Post about Center for the Less Good Idea: https://repatriates.org/benin/notes-from-the-center-for-the-less-good-idea/
Reflections on the Benin Bronzes and Iyagbon’s Mirror: https://repatriates.org/benin-bronzes-and-minor-universality/
Images (c) eSeL.at – Lorenz Seidler
Samson Ogiamien performing Iyagbon’s Mirror.
Still from Iyagbon’s Mirror film.
Panel discussion with Bronwyn Lace.
(L-R) Julian Reinisch (Apex film), Khadija Zinnenburg Carroll, Adewole Falade, Verena Melgarejo Weinandt, Samson Ogiamien, (moderator name)
George Nuku responding from the audience
(L-R) George Nuku, (Moderator), Adewole Falade, Verena Melgarejo Weinandt, Khadija Zinnenburg Carroll, (APEX Film) Samson Ogiamien, (individual)
Ananya Casius