TERVUREN.- ReThinking Collections is a new temporary exhibition on provenance research. Most of the collections in the AfricaMuseum were acquired during the colonial era, in what is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Provenance research and the related theme of restitution are increasingly the subject of current social and political debate. But how can we trace the origins of collections? What new insights does this knowledge provide? And what should become of these collections, within and beyond museum walls?

The exhibition highlights the challenges of and varying approaches to provenance research. It presents a range of varied and occasionally unexpected collections. ReThinking Collections broaches relevant questions on contested heritage and explores new perspectives on the future of colonial collections.

ReThinking Collections was inspired by the recent AfricaMuseum publication (RE)MAKING COLLECTIONS. Origins, Trajectories & Reconnections / LA FABRIQUE DES COLLECTIONS: Origines, trajectoires & reconnexions, edited by Sarah Van Beurden, Didier Gondola and Agnès Lacaille. This academic work, published in October 2023, focuses on two complementary perspectives: the field of (cultural) heritage in the general historical and contemporary Belgian-Congolese context, and more specifically, the collections in the AfricaMuseum.

Under the auspices of the Belgian Presidency of of the Council of the European Union.

THE BOOK BEHIND THE EXHIBITION: (RE)MAKING COLLECTIONS: ORIGINS, TRAJECTORIES, & RECONNECTIONS

The massive presence of non-western artefacts in Europe has drawn more and more attention from researchers in recent years. Instigated by the artefacts’ native communities and their diasporas, this situation has become the subject of discussion in international social debates.

In Belgium, the collections of the AfricaMuseum and their colonial origins are under scrutiny. On its 2018 reopening, the museum was criticised for the patchy contextualisation of the manner in which the collections in the permanent exhibition were acquired. A ‘provenance tour’ introduced in 2021 gave visitors more information on the origins of various articles via a smartphone app and several website articles.

However, provenance research must dig deeper into the historical accounts of the collections as a whole, taking into account their development and transformation over time. To this end, the (Re)Making Collections publication project was launched in August 2021.

THE EXHIBITION

With the ReThinking Collections temporary exhibition, the museum aims to examine the challenges and approaches of provenance research and how they relate to the collections as a whole. The focus is not only on the ways in which the collection was acquired over the course of more than a century, but also on their future prospects.

In addition to cultural anthropology collections, the exhibition includes other types of collections, such as the natural sciences. While the former have been widely studied and covered by the media, the latter remain largely ignored by research and social debates – even if, from an institutional perspective, they form part of the same historical, ideological and political context. Photo collections and archives are also valuable; because of their documentary significance they are essential to research into the creation of collections.

The exhibition is based on an edited collection and reflects the various approaches of the authors of the (Re)Making Collections publication project, which include a number of researchers and institutional actors from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and the diversity of the collections they study.

With ReThinking Collections, the AfricaMuseum introduces a new exhibition format in the cellars of the renovated museum building. The more human scale of this intimate space offers new possibilities and brings the visitor closer to the topic.

More and more Africans and Afro-descendants are taking an interest in their history and want to reconnect with the culture of their ancestors. This is no simple matter, as it relates not only to objects but also to their spiritual, cultural, and social significance. The past can never fully return, yet – as the AfricaMuseum espouses – ‘everything passes, except the past’. When we know and understand our past better, we construct our own identities.

Each of us should learn how objects, often acquired in violent or unjust circumstances, entered the museum. It is just as important to comprehend this crucial period in time: territorial conquest during the colonial era left deep wounds, and establishing the truth is part of every healing process.

The question of provenance research is thus a pressing issue. ReThinking Collections is a significant step in understanding and acknowledging the routes taken by the collection pieces. A scholarly work edited by Sarah Van Beurden, Didier Gondola, and Agnès Lacaille served as the basis for this exhibition. I am greatly impressed by
the compelling research that demonstrates how the 2022 Belgian law on restitution addresses an objective need for justice and reconciliation with our past.

I am similarly impressed by the record time in which the AfricaMuseum teams prepared and installed this exhibition of more than 60 objects, in a manner that provides new ways of seeing our history.

I wish you a rewarding visit, and I hope that it will bring fresh insights and greater empathy for the social debate around restitution.

Bart Ouvry, Director-General

AfricaMuseum
ReThinking Collections
January 19th, 2024 - September 29th, 2024