As someone raised in colonial Africa who has taught art history here for nearly 50 years I agree with David Olusoga that returning the spoils of empire makes a lot of sense (UK should return looted art to ex-colonies, says historian, 28 May). It need not empty our museums of everything so acquired. As he showed in his recent BBC Civilisations programmes, cultural interchange between Europe and the rest of the world shaped a shared heritage. That needs displaying so its legacies can be appreciated without concealing the uncomfortable historical facts.
Objects from the old empires will still have a place in European museum collections because, more vividly than most postcolonial history books, they bring that past to life. Wherever we and they are physically, with modern digital technologies and the internet they can be recorded, seen and interpreted from anywhere, but still there is no substitute for the originals, especially in countries that have few surviving artefacts from their own past. That is why returning some, while retaining others, would be mutually beneficial educationally, culturally and diplomatically.
Continue reading...from World news | The Guardian https://ift.tt/2sm2ltq
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