« Ça rentre à la maison. »

Colonial looted art, popular performance and postcolonial protest in social media

Abstract

In current international cultural policy, the restitution of African cultural objects of colonial origin is at the center of debates. The practice of collecting ‚exotic‘ goods in Europe began as early as the Renaissance, but it was not until the 19th century that European ‚interest‘ in African cultures intensified, associated with the violent colonization of large parts of the continent. The systematic theft of African cultural objects by European colonial powers led to the legitimization of colonial subjugation. Despite isolated restitution projects in recent years, many critics are protesting against the observed inertia in European restitution efforts. One example of the militant protest against these developments is Mwazulu Diyabanza. In 2020, the Congolese activist attempted to steal an African statue from the Musée du Quai Branly in Paris, and published his performance on the online video sharing platform YouTube to draw attention to the unlawful appropriation of African cultural objects. After an introduction to the ongoing restitution debate, this article analyzes Diyabanza’s YouTube video as a postcolonial protest against the backdrop of the ongoing restitution debate and the cultural policy challenges in dealing with colonial cultural objects.