#Restitutions: Archives Under Question
The discussion will take place in the context of the 60th anniversary of the World Festival of Black Arts, held in Dakar, Senegal, in 1966, which was a major moment of cultural and political reaffirmation. Sarah Frioux-Salgas, archivist at the Quai Branly Museum, and Mamadou Diouf, Professor of African Studies and History at Columbia University, will discuss the notion of “restitution” as it applies to archives and the conditions of access to resources: does this involve transfers of ownership, deposits, supervised circulation, certified copies, shared digitization, or hybrid systems?
This meeting aims to encourage critical reflection on the possible methods of restitution, sharing, or circulation of archives, while questioning the contemporary transformations in the role of heritage institutions in the face of social and political demands for recognition and reparation. The discussions will also focus on experiences of archival cooperation, as well as the resistance and controversy they provoke.
The discussions will be moderated by journalist Valérie Nivelon (RFI).
Sarah Frioux-Salgas (1978) is a historian (specializing in slavery and Pan-Africanism) and has been an archivist at the Musée du Quai Branly-Jacques Chirac since 2003. She has curated four exhibitions at the Musée du Quai Branly-Jacques Chirac: "Présence Africaine. A Forum, a Movement, a Network“ (2009, 2011 in Dakar), ”Nancy Cunard's Black Atlantic. Negro Anthology (1931-1934)“ (2014); Dakar 66. ”Chronicle of a Pan-African Festival" (2016); “Paul Robeson. A Man of the ‘Whole World’” (2018, 2021 in Dakar), “Transcending Anthropology. Zora Neale Hurston, Eslanda Goode Robeson, Katherine Dunham” (2024). Between 2020 and 2022, she coordinated the research project “Pour un partage des archives : le festival mondial des arts nègres, Dakar 1966 (FMAN)” (Sharing the archives: the World Festival of Black Arts, Dakar 1966 (FMAN)).
Sarah Frioux-Salgas is also an editor at the publishing house Rot-Bô-Krik.
Mamadou Diouf is Professor of African Studies and History, and holds the Leitner Family Chair in African Studies and History at Columbia University in New York, United States. He is a visiting professor at the Global Studies University-Africa Institute in Sharjah (United Arab Emirates). He taught in the History Department at Cheikh Anta Diop University in Dakar (1982–1991) and headed the Research and Documentation Department at the Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA) from 1991 to 1999. He was Professor of History and African and African-American Studies (2000–2007) before holding the Charles Moody Jr Chair in History and African Studies at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor (2007–2008).
His publications include Senghor et les arts. Réinventer la négritude (with Sarah Frioux Salgas and Sarah Lignier); Catalogue of the exhibition of the same name at the Musée du Quai Branly-Jacques Chirac (March-November 2023); Déborder la Négritude. Arts, politique et société à Dakar (with Maureen Murphy); Dijon, les presses du réel, 2020, Africa Nko; La bibliothèque coloniale en débat (with Mamadou Diawara and Jean-Bernard Ouédraogo), Paris, Présence Africaine, 2022; and L’Afrique dans le temps du monde, published by Rot Bo Krik, Paris (2023).
Journalist and audio documentary maker Valérie Nivelon conducts historical investigations and participates in scientific research programmes on memory. Using sound archives and testimonies, she produces radio stories from the perspective of participants and witnesses, in order to tell history in a different way. She has been travelling regularly to Africa for more than 20 years and is involved in bringing female figures from history to the fore.
Valérie Nivelon received the SCAM award for best radio programme in 2011.
#Restitutions. Another definition of the world
A series of talks co-designed and moderated by Valérie Nivelon (creator of the podcast Africaines Queens and the radio program La Marche du monde on RFI).
On June 7, 1978, Amadou Mahtar M’Bow, the first African Director-General of UNESCO, issued a “solemn appeal” to governments, cultural institutions, museums, libraries, historians, and artists for the restitution of cultural property to their countries of origin. Nearly fifty years after this landmark call, where do we stand on the question of return?
The series #Restitutions. Another Definition of the World offers a space for reflection and dialogue on the restitution of artworks and cultural property acquired in contexts of violence and domination, as well as on the issues of memory, justice, and the circulation of heritage that these claims raise. Through seven conversations bringing together researchers, legal scholars, museum professionals, and cultural practitioners, the series seeks to provide analytical tools and contribute to more just, collaborative, and sustainable practices.
Series "#Restitutions. Another definition of the world"
Tuesday 15 September 2026
7 pm - 9 pm
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FMSH
54 boulevard Raspail
Paris 6
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PARTNER
Language and Religion: The Gods Behind the Words
Adapting Cognitive Assessment Tools to Indigenous Cultural Contexts
Making things last. Practices and resources in the art of de-consuming
