In the magazine “the new york times Upfront” there has been a report that there is a current and growing movement that is pushing museums to return stolen art and objects back to native cultures in Africa like Nigeria, specifically Benin city. you see back in 1897 there was a raid that came from British forces that took thousands of priceless artifacts, landing them in museums and private collections that are thousands of miles away from the people and the culture that celebrated and created them. In my own opinion, I think the right thing to do is to return what has been taken and bring these artifacts back to the natives of Africa so they can once again they can celebrate and contain their own history. recently the movement was able to have museums return some of these artifacts back to where they belong, The Oba, or king, of Benin, received repatriated artifacts earlier this year as these artifacts sit in palaces where they belong. this wasn’t the only place that wanted their ancient artifacts back, the young activist of Greece and Athens also demand to have their marble sculptures back like the beautiful Parthenon Marbel statues, they also regard a possible return of these statues.
so what do you think? is it right to return these arts and beautiful objects back to their roots? or is it better to leave the museums less empty and have people from around the world be able to see these beautiful artifacts? I recommend posting your opinion in the comments. thanks for reading!
