Museums and Ethics

In episode 13, we started discussing the ethics of museums and how museums tend to hold cultural items hostage for their own gain. This is an ongoing discussion in the Art History community and we want to keep it going. This is a growing list of sources and current events regarding museums and their contested collections.

https://youtu.be/eJPLiT1kCSM

https://www.cnn.com/style/article/met-museum-artifacts-seized-new-york-looting/index.html

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/sudanese-museums-call-for-return-of-stolen-artifacts-180980303/

https://www.britishmuseum.org/about-us/british-museum-story/contested-objects-collection

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/us-museums-return-african-bronzes-stolen-19th-century-rcna52138

https://www.artnews.com/list/art-news/artists/most-important-looted-plundered-works-1234584727/

https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/special-topics-art-history/arches-at-risk-cultural-heritage-education-series/whose-art/a/repatriating-artworks

https://www.npr.org/2022/08/07/1116234478/london-horniman-museum-nigerian-art-benin-bronzes

https://www.npr.org/2018/06/28/623537440/hobby-lobbys-illegal-antiquities-shed-light-on-a-lost-looted-ancient-city-in-ira

https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2022/07/17/stolen-wounded-knee-artifacts-native-americans/