This event, part of the Devolving Restitution series by AFFORD and hosted by Birmingham Museums Trust (BMT), took place on Thursday, 10 November 2022.
BMT aims to use Birmingham’s collection of over one million objects to build trust, belonging, and solidarity. The museum is actively re-examining the global provenance of its collections, which includes nearly 3,000 objects of African origin, and engaging in ongoing dialogues around repatriation and restitution.
This session focused on Natural Science collections, an area just beginning to explore its colonial histories and connections to empire.
The Devolving Restitution programme brought together museums, community heritage practitioners, and African claimants across six themed events exploring the histories of African collections in UK institutions. Led by Prof. Dan Hicks (Pitt Rivers Museum) and funded by the Open Society Foundations.