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Arts & Communication African art: Former passions, current concerns

to mine the reserves and to participate in residential
projects and exhibitions. The Museum for Central Africa
(AfricaMuseum) in Tervuren, Belgium, was an important
player in this initiative which raised public awareness but
also often touched on past wounds of Afrodescendants.
One of the painful, though revealing, recent examples of
this archeology of the archives was the AfricaMuseum’s
show in the fall 2023 curated by the artist/photographer
Teddy Mazina. The invited artist Mazina introduced
what he called a “teaser” to the public with a random
selection of photographs and descriptive museum files
from the colonial period, some of which were intended as
shocking reminders but of what we already know about
the inhumanity of the Belgian administration. Given the
complete absence of contextualization of this material, the
Figure 1. – “Trumpet Boy” by Yinka Shonibare CBE, 2010; fiberglass exhibition was only open on two Sundays in the presence
mannequin, Dutch wax-printed cotton textile, globe, cornet, leather, and of the artist who was requested to explain to visitors his
steel base plate; sculpture 1,440 × 480 × 470 mm; baseplate 1,450 × 650 choices and reasons behind them. This short-lived event
× 550 mm (h × w × d); photo Ed Lyon 2016, courtesy of the Foundling
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Museum, London. Copyright Yinka Shonibare CBE. rightly testified to the liberty accorded to African artists in
museums like Tervuren; however, what transpired as well is
in research of contemporary African creativity encourage the acceptance of a populist view and presentation sidelining
their students to follow suit. In the meantime, change in any scientific input as if no serious and critical research had
historical expressive culture is occurring in Africa, not been conducted since those early colonial days. Some of the
only in urban spheres but also beyond, in the vast rural colonial photographs exposed by Mazina depicted significant
world, and few scholars from either side of the Equator cultural features and practices that are, on the contrary,
have proposed a relevant perspective of studying these precious historical documents. This referencing of the past
developments, which may be difficult to retrieve some time contrasts radically with the possibilities of the musicians in
down the road. Admittedly there are political conflicts residence who have exploited archival recordings housed
and falling regimes such as in the Sahel, that lead to by the AfricaMuseum to mix traditional and contemporary
serious security issues and economic constraints making genres of music to create new expressions relevant to today’s
grant availability for field research on expressive culture source communities as well as Afrodescendants, wherever
unattainable for western students and especially those in they may reside. As Adilia Yip explains, the implementation
of a “participatory creative action” program involving source
Africa. Hence, investigation on contemporary creativity, communities in Africa and their descendants abroad is a
art fairs, biennials and triennials continue to retain the model that provides more than just restitution of objects
forefront of scholarly interest.
– namely, musical instruments – it offers a meaningful
3. Provenance studies and restitution “reparation that deals with disappearing and disrupted
musical practices.” 5
So where do we stand now? While the contemporary
sector is thriving, historical African art is only alive and Unlike intangible cultural heritage such as music,
well in the private art market but quite uncomfortably the key issue for Afrodescendants and artists regarding
housed in northern public institutions where its legitimacy material culture has been the demand for the restitution of
is under scrutiny. Many Western nations appear to be museum objects amassed during the colonial enterprise by
blocked by the “boomerang” effect of colonialism, slavery, those wishing to identify with and reclaim their heritage as
racial prejudice, and the ongoing economic exploitation well as by the politically motivated. President Emmanuel
Macron endorsed this stand and set it into motion with the
of poor populations. The diaspora has become more vocal Sarr and Savoy report. In anticipation of such measures
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in many spheres including the cultural sector, and their being undertaken, research projects on the “provenance” of
views on art treasures of the past have been authenticated objects have been activated by museums intent on offering
with authority, regardless of their familiarity or degree of proof of their intentions of identifying stolen or illegally
proximity to the originating African cultures.
removed material. This is admittedly difficult research to
Diaspora artists and cultural brokers of African descent carry out as it is fraught with multidimensional problems
in Europe and the US have been invited by museums and visions. 7

Volume 3 Issue 3 (2025) 3 doi: 10.36922/ac.4894