“I cannot accept that a large part of cultural heritage from several African countries is in France. African heritage can’t just be in European private collections and museums. African heritage must be highlighted in Paris, but also in Dakar, in Lagos, in Cotonou.”
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The question of to whom and how looted treasures of former colonies are returned is a contentious one. Even if it can be agreed that an artifact was taken without full consent, there remains even bigger questions about how the artifact should now be treated.
Those who support believe that only the people from whom the object was taken get to decide how to manage and represent their cultural heritage. Those who support a more believe that historical artifacts have an international importance and need to be safeguarded. The debate, like the history, is messy and wrought with emotion. Everyone can’t be pleased, but there has to be something better than the artifacts simply remaining in Europe as part of the world’s “default public archives”?
A tokenized solution is, I hope, a movement in the right direction in which lies a way that is neutral and transparent that can see the return of these objects whilst still offering the international museum a chance to participate. I propose that each piece of restituted art is tokenized to equal x number of . These will represent the total ownership of art or art collection with the percentage of representing the amount of time in the year that the art will reside with the holder group [1].
The Origin Group
Ninety-nine per cent of the will initially go to the Origin Group and will be divided equally between:
- Origin Individuals who claim a right to the object because of ethnic, tribal, or family ties to its creation or lineage
- Origin Museum that would be responsible for its care and public display
- Origin Government where the majority of Origin Individuals currently reside
Governance Group
After 99% of the have been distributed to the Origin Group, the remaining 1% of the would go to establishing an international, diverse, non-profit governance and administration committee that would manage approval of the different groups, technical , and logistics. This group would also arbitrate disputes and should represent a neutral party. They would hold back-up access to the as well as be responsible for technical upkeep and management of the system.
Steward Group
- Steward Museum that currently holds and manages the art
- Steward Government is the national government where the Steward Museum is located
Market Stage
Before the art is moved, a is opened which allows the Steward Group to purchase shares of the art and therefore the rights to hold the collection for a portion of the year.There would be two Current Steward parties, one representing the Steward Government and another one representing the Steward Museum that is currently holding the art collection. Both of these parties would be allowed to bid or offer a price for each to the current holders, which would be members of the Origin Group.
For example, if they offered $100 for each , and 20% of the holders in any representation of the Origin Group would be willing to sell at that price, the Steward Group would have the right to display the art for 20% of the year. The logic is that the true monetary value of the art would be revealed through market forces and those in the Origin Group would be able to decide as a group and as individuals what that art is worth to them. Those who find the art absolutely priceless would simply never sell and retain ownership of the art to pass down through the generations. On the other hand, it is possible that all parties and members of the Origin Group decide to sell 100% of their and would thus give up any ownership of the art. Whatever the outcome, consent from all parties will be mutually and publicly agreed upon, something that did not happen in the past.
Third Parties
Third Parties are any museum that does not represent the Origin Country or the Steward Country and would be allowed to bid on after the initial bidding from the Steward Group has settled. Third Parties would need to be approved by both the Governance Group and the Origin Group Parties. Having Third Parties should increase the price of the art shares and bring it closer to the true global market value of the art as well as decrease the chances of manipulation of the price by having only one bidder. Once again the Steward Parties and the Origin Parties can choose to hold on to all of their and not give up any ownership to the new Third Parties. It is up to the new bidders to offer a price that is acceptable to the current holders.
Art Rotation
Once all the bids are settled, the representation would be fixed for that year. If the Steward owns 35% of the , the Origin Group own 40% of the , one Third Party owns 10% and another Third Party owns 15%, then that is how the piece or collection would spend it’s time for that year. Groups must own at least 5% of the total to physically represent the art for that year. The minimum percentage ownership and the fixed representation amount could be different values, but must be fixed in advance to minimize logistical and organizational chaos. A constantly changing schedule or having to accommodate many small shareholders would be expensive and much less manageable.
The first party to receive the art for the year would be the Origin Museum, and then it would be transferred to the Third Party with the highest holdings, followed by the next Third Party with the highest holdings, and so on. The final party to display the art during that year would be the Steward Museum. The bidding and exchange of would be opened for all parties once the year has ended. Transportation, insurance, and security would be paid for proportionally by the holders, but would be executed and arranged by the Governance Group [2].
“To openly speak of restitutions is to speak of , or a re-balancing, recognition, of restoration and reparation, but above all: it’s a way to open a pathway toward establishing new cultural relations based on a newly reflected upon ethical relation.”
Published at Sun, 20 Jan 2019 11:15:30 +0000