One story dominated the museum sector this year; the revelation that the British Museum had lost thousands of priceless objects in his care. “We believe we have been subject to theft over a long period of time,” George Osborne, president of the museum, said in an interview on BBC Radio 4 in August. As a result, many governments around the world have stepped up calls for the return of objects held by the British Museum.
The first response came from the Greek government, which left the “sharing” plan long negotiated by Osborne on behalf of the Greek government. Parthenon Marbles tattered. In an interview with the Greek newspaper In Vima, Greek Culture Minister Lina Mendoni said the argument that marbles were safer in London than in Greece had “collapsed”. She said: “When this happens from within, beyond any moral and criminal responsibility, a major question arises about the credibility of the museum organization itself. »
The Nigerian government quickly followed suit, calling for Benin bronzes be returned. “It is shocking to hear that countries and museums that told us the Benin Bronzes would not be safe in Nigeria are being stolen there,” said Abba Isa Tijani, director of the National Commission for museums and monuments of Nigeria, to Sky News. .
Cultural representatives from Ghana and Ethiopia also called on the museum to return their objects. Art historian Nana Oforiatta Ayim, who organized the first Venice Biennale pavilion in Ghana in 2019, said the museum’s claim that it took better care of African objects than the states from which they came was “racist, patriarchal and condescending” in an interview with the New York Times.
Nations that have not traditionally clashed with the museum over its objects have also intervened. In August, an editorial in the World Time, China’s English-language state newspaper, said: “The vast majority of the British Museum’s immense collection of up to eight million objects came from countries other than the United Kingdom, and a significant part of it was acquired through improper, even dirty, means. and sinful means. In India, meanwhile, the media focused on the return of the controversial Koh-i-Noor diamond, set in the Queen Mother’s crown and part of the royal collection at the Tower of London.
Write in The arts journalOxford academic Dan Hicks was unequivocal: “The last argument against restitution has now been lost. »
The British Museum has launched an independent investigation into the search for a new director. Time will tell whether the plan to conserve the Parthenon marbles and its other objects will be respected. But it seems clear that 2023 will be remembered as the year the pendulum swung once and for all on the restitution debate and the idea that the museums of “the world” are the rightful holders of other nations’ priceless objects.
Conflict and destruction
Following Hamas’ terrorist attack on civilians in Israel in October, the devastating war in Gaza has resulted in the loss of thousands of lives as well as the destruction of mosques and archaeological sites.
Although the Russian-led movement war in Ukraine information networks have been interrupted, cultural and heritage buildings continue to be damaged and destroyed. In June, floodwaters from the rupture of the Nova Kakhovka dam in Russia-occupied southern Ukraine’s Kherson province reportedly submerged the home of the late Ukrainian artist Polina Rayko.
UNESCO has decided to protect Ukraine by listing the historic center of Odessa, the St. Sophia Cathedral in Kiev and the monastic complex of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, as well as the entire historic center of the city of Lviv, on its list of endangered world heritage sites. . Newly protected Odessa was subjected to a sustained air barrage in July.
The fighting also gave rise to a sharp debate on restitution. An investigation by The Art Newspaper expressed serious concerns that works of art taken by Russian troops into occupied Ukraine could not be repatriated once the fighting ended. Hundreds of paintings were removed from the Kherson Regional Art Museum in November and shipped to Simferopol in Crimea, territory conquered by Russia in 2014. Other Ukrainian museums suffered a similar fate.
The works of the Kherson Museum are now kept in a concert hall of the Simferopol Art Museum (part of the Central Taurida Museum), headed by Andrei Malgin. Malgin, born in Simferopol, is close to Russian President Vladimir Putin and has been a strong supporter of Russia’s takeover of Crimea.
A downward shift in China
This year, news broke of the scale of China’s economic crisis, one not seen since the global crash of 2008. The impact on the country’s booming museum sector could be profound.
The pandemic continued to play a significant role in 2023. In January, China reopened its borders to international visitors for the first time since March 2020. But President Xi Jinping’s zero-Covid policy has had a major impact on the tourism sector. construction, leading in part to the potential bankruptcy of Evergrande and Country Garden, the country’s two largest real estate developers. It’s not yet clear what this means for China’s museum sector, but commentators have pointed to worrying signs. The auction of a significant amount of artwork from Shanghai’s Long Museum, one of China’s most revered private art museums, at Sotheby’s in Hong Kong in October was cause for concern. There was also the significant downsizing of the Shanghai Yuz Museum and the closure of the Shanghai Photography Center.
Political turmoil, activism and climate change
The global rise of populist movements and authoritarian governments continues to impact the museum and heritage sector. In January, during the inauguration of Lula da Silva as president of Brazil, supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro stormed the Brazilian National Congress, the Federal Supreme Court and the Planalto Presidential Palace, provoking protests. Significant damage to works of art.
In Africa, the presidents of Niger and Gabon were toppled in coups, while a civil war broke out in Sudan in April between the country’s military and the populist Rapid Support Forces paramilitary group. Protected heritage sites in each of these countries have been threatened by violence.
Direct action on climate has intensified throughout 2023, with groups like Just Stop Oil and Extinction Rebellion frequently using museums as protest sites. In October 2022, Just stop oil Activists threw soup on a Vincent van Gogh painting at the National Gallery in London. But in November, they intensified their actions at the museum by staging a hammer attack on Velázquez’s “Venus Rokeby.”
There is no doubt that climate change continues to have a significant impact on the planet’s ability to protect its collective heritage sites. Catastrophic natural disasters include a massive earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria in February, killing nearly 60,000 people and destroying many archaeological sites and ancient buildings. In September, a major earthquake measuring 6.8 struck western Morocco, devastating the country’s museum sector and protected heritage sites.
