A growing number of nations are successfully reclaiming their cultural heritage, but advocates say former colonial powers like the UK and France must do more. A wave of restitution is moving across Europe, as former colonial powers begin returning looted artefacts and human remains to their countries of origin, according to a recent review by the Berlin-based advocacy group Colonialism …
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The photographer and author Akinbode Akinbiyi (78) has been awarded the prestigious Hannah Höch Prize 2024 for his outstanding artistic life’s work. The prize, awarded by the Cultural Administration of the Berlin Senate since 1996, honours artists who live and work in Berlin and who stand out for their continuous artistic achievements. The prize is endowed with 25,000 euros and …
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It is quite an achievement itself that OUR ROOTS has been a Black history cartoon column featured series for 35 years. It was first published in the UK’s Voice newspaper. The history of Black people must be illustrated and that is what Tayo Fatunla (whose artistic name is TAYO) has been doing through his journalistic drawings after discovering the need …
Read More »BonelliErede, a leading international law firm, and Italia Africa Business Week (IABW), a commercial and business forum whose goal is to facilitate sharing economic, commercial and financial knowledge between Africa and Italy, recently held a webinar on the restitution of cultural property to African states. It was the latest in a series of webinars organised by BonelliErede and focused on: …
Read More »A collection of the looted artefacts from the old Benin kingdom of today’s Nigeria, famously called Benin Bronzes, are currently being exhibited at the Humboldt Forum, a sprawling museum dedicated to history, art and culture, in Berlin. They are a part of the artefacts, comprising sculptures and reliefs made of bronze and brass as well as works made of ivory, …
Read More »Meta, the company that owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, among other products and services, has announced the launch of ‘Creators of Tomorrow‘, a new campaign that celebrates emerging talents from around the world who are inspiring a new movement of creative content online. The campaign spotlights creators in Sub-Saharan Africa from East Africa, Southern Africa and Francophone Africa. The selected …
Read More »Artists get ideas for their works from what they see and experience around them through the process of socialisation. Others say they get these images from their dreams and from visits by the ancestral spirits while meditating.
Read More »After a two-year break, the Adire Carnival returned with a bang to the Austrian capital city of Vienna this year. The festival celebrates Adire textile made in southwestern Nigeria by women who use a variety of resist-dyeing techniques. Oluyemi Ogundele* writes about the festival, its history and what it seeks to accomplish—— The Adire Carnival, a Nigerian cultural festival, was …
Read More »Germany and Nigeria have signed an agreement paving way for the return of the more than 1,100 valuable Benin Bronzes in the collections of German museums. These were looted from the Palace of the Oba of Benin some 125 years ago —- It was a historic moment on Friday, 1 July when Germany and Nigeria signed the ‘Joint Declaration on …
Read More »An agreement between the governments of Germany and Nigeria on the return of the Benin artefacts in German museums to Nigeria will be signed on Friday in Berlin. The historic signing of the ‘Joint Declaration on the Return of the Benin Bronzes and Bilateral Museum Cooperation between Germany and Nigeria’ is the culmination of years of agitation for the return …
Read More »"There is still a feeling that everything that's local is primitive"
Read More »Nigeria’s Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has described the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), signed between Nigeria and Germany in Abuja on Wednesday, as a major step toward the repatriation of hundreds of Benin Bronzes from Germany next year. The Minister, who spoke when he received the German government delegation that came to Nigeria for the signing of …
Read More »Dr Vivian Chioma Timothy, a Germany-based Nigerian artist, will speak at the 2021 World Summit on Women and Girls. The event, which commemorates the United Nations International Day of the Girl, takes place on Thursday 28 October 2021. The self-taught, multiple award-winning artist will join global leaders such as Ms Coleiro Preca, former President of Malta; Hajia Fatoumata Jallow Tambajang, …
Read More »Nigeria’s Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, on Saturday said the Federal Government will be responsible for taking possession of the 1,130 Benin bronzes to be returned by Germany. “The Federal Government is aware of the widely reported controversy on who will take possession of the Benin bronzes when they are returned from Germany,” Mr Mohammed said on Saturday …
Read More »A powerful Nigerian delegation visited Berlin on Wednesday, 7 July 2021, to pursue the return of the famous Benin bronze heads and other cultural artefacts that were pillaged from that country in the 19th Century during a punitive expedition of the British Army. Led by Information and Culture Minister, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the delegation included Mr Godwin Obaseki, the Governor …
Read More »Germany has agreed to return all Benin artefacts by 2022. The artefacts are those taken from the Benin Royal Court following the British incursion in 1849. This was announced on Tuesday at a press briefing in Abuja, the nation’s capital. The event was attended by the Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed; Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki; and the German delegation. …
Read More »The artefacts are mostly from the British looting of the ancient Kingdom of Benin in the 19th century. Now German museums have now agreed to return the art treasures to Nigeria following years of demands for restitution —- German museums are to return the art treasures of the Benin bronzes considered as looted property to Nigeria next year. This was …
Read More »The Nigerian Government on Thursday received a stolen Ile-Ife artefact from Mexico. Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama received the artwork from the Charge D’affaires of the Nigerian mission in Mexico, Yakubu Dadu. “Presented with an ancient bronze sculpture by Dr. Yakubu Dadu, Chargé Affaires of The Nigerian Embassy in Mexico,” the minister tweeted on his official handle. “This Ife …
Read More »Facebook and Creatives Garage launch #RealpeopleRealstories, a campaign that supports the Creative industry. Through its partnership with Creatives Garage, Facebook aims to support the creative industry in Kenya by providing a platform where they can amplify their work and inspire others NAIROBI, Kenya, November 4, 2020/ — Facebook and Creatives Garage launched #RealpeopleRealstories – a campaign that showcases the stories …
Read More »The multifunctional online subscription site offers tried-and-tested creative crafting lesson plans, teaching resources and business acumen CAPE TOWN, South Africa, January 28, 2020/ — A Cape Town-based startup, Creative Crafting Club bridges the gap between entrepreneurship for stay-at-home parents and education for tots-to-tweens. The multifunctional online subscription site offers tried-and-tested creative crafting lesson plans, teaching resources and business acumen for …
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THE AFRICAN COURIER. Reporting Africa and its Diaspora! The African Courier is an international magazine published in Germany to report on Africa and the Diaspora African experience. The first issue of the bimonthly magazine appeared on the newsstands on 15 February 1998. The African Courier is a communication forum for European-African political, economic and cultural exchanges, and a voice for Africa in Europe.