Looking to the Past to Create the Future
Benin City is in turmoil following the disrupted opening of the new Museum of West African Art (MOWAA). Amid this intensifying debate, BBC Newsday and BBC World News: Focus on Africa asked the Restitution Study Group (RSG) to share our perspective on the Benin Bronzes, their origins, and their future. BBC WORLD NEWS INTERVIEWS 1. BBC World News: Focus …
Continue reading "RSG Responds to Chaos at Benin City Museum Opening"
On sacred ground and in sacred company, we gathered at the British Museum to honor our ancestors and their surviving offspring — those whose lives were traded for the metal manilla currency that became the Benin Bronzes. Witness Benin Kingdom Museum Fellow Jirah Joshua’s powerful artistic tribute from London. This is the beginning of a …
Nick Merriman’s sudden resignation as Chief Executive of English Heritage comes not only after a tumultuous 18 months marked by staffing cuts and restructuring, but also amid lingering concerns over his handling of the Horniman Museum’s return of Benin bronzes to Nigeria. While heralded by some as a moral act of restitution, Merriman’s oversight of …
Continue reading "Nick Merriman Steps Down Amid Controversy Over Benin Bronzes Transfer"
Restitution Study Group and The Met Celebrate Historical Strides The Restitution Study Group celebrates two historic breakthroughs in our global reparatory justice campaign. On May 31st, the Benin Kingdom Museum Bronze-Making Fellows completed the first-ever Oba Head born out of unity—a powerful act of ancestral remembrance, cultural skill, and community collaboration. The Fellowship was made …
Continue reading "The Met Rewrites History, Restitution Study Group Writes the Future"
Screening in Pavillon Afriques’ Marché du Film Program | May 15, 2025 at 7:00 PM Trailer Cannes, France — The Restitution Study Group is proud to present 3X Freedom, a powerful three-part anthology documentary exploring the unyielding fight for freedom among descendants of enslaved Africans, screening during the 2025 Cannes Film Festival as part of Pavillon Afriques’ Marché du …
AFRODESCENDANT BENIN BRONZE OWNERSHIP CLAIM
Benin bronzes should be entrusted to descendants of the enslaved Thank you for your editorial on the Benin bronzes (“At the Museum of Fine Arts, a chance for justice,” April 27). However, calling for the repatriation of the plundered artworks to Nigeria erases the descendants of the enslaved Africans whose lives paid for these artifacts. …
The Restitution Study Group (RSG) proudly announces a powerful trilogy of milestones in the global movement for reparatory justice: LEGISLATIVE BREAKTHROUGH: Tuesday, March 25th, 2025, Illinois State Rep. Carol Ammons introduced House Resolution 0211—a historic bill recognizing the slave trade origins of the Benin Bronzes and calling for joint stewardship, transparent inventories, and cultural healing for descendants …
https://youtu.be/X6vgBMLvUTs?si=u8CAobqoylEVsR6y The Smithsonian secretly created a rule to deaccession 42 Benin Bronzes—worth up to $300 million—to transfer them to heirs of Benin Kingdom slave traders in Nigeria. This violates U.S. law regulating the Smithsonian and it violates the 1st Amendment rights of all Americans protected by Administrative Procedure Act public hearing requirement. ⚖️ A lawsuit …
Continue reading "🚨 Where Are the $300M Smithsonian Benin Bronzes?! 🚨"
Listen to the NPR podcast: For those still catching up on the ongoing battle over the Benin bronzes, NPR’s latest award winning Throughline podcast, "The Kingdom Behind the Glass," delivers an insightful deep dive, featuring none other than Deadria Farmer-Paellmann, Executive Director of the Restitution Study Group along with other prominent voices in this battle — Ore Ogunbiyi, Africa …
Restitution Study Group 