This exhibition proactively engages with debates about restitution and the ethics of museums’ owning African heirlooms collected during the era of colonization. The investigation and research into 11 works of African art will be conducted publicly — visitors will have access to documents, photographs, and correspondence that will help us develop a better understanding of each object’s history, grappling in real time with questions surrounding legal and ethical ownership of these artworks. Though complex, this project presents exciting opportunities for museum transparency and creating new pathways for relationship-building with partners in Africa and its diaspora. Museum visitors can begin to explore this investigation online and in-person in Fall 2021.

Lead support for the UMMA exhibition Wish You Were Here: African Art and Restitution is provided by the University of Michigan Office of the Provost and the Michigan Arts and Culture Council.