Drop in to the British Museum tomorrow for a short talk by Elsbeth Court (SOAS) on ‘The African Galleries: A Decade of Progress’. The BM’s Sainsbury galleries contain all kinds of objects, from archaeological finds to contemporary sculpture and textiles, and it’s interesting to see these juxtaposed in one space. Elsbeth’s talk should illuminate some of the thinking behind this decision which sets the Sainsbury galleries apart from the rest of the BM.
Saturday 12th February, 13.15
Room 25
British Museum
African Art in London 
February 12, 2011 at 4:39 pm
Are you crazy? The British Museum is an imperialist racist Eurocentric organization.
I can’t believe you would promote such trash.
What kind of a racist are you?!
February 12, 2011 at 6:34 pm
I’m afraid you are right: the British Museum does stand as a monument to centuries of European imperialism and indeed racism. Like museums all over the world, the BM also holds material that was taken unlawfully, and should arguably be returned.
But in posting about events at the BM, I am not endorsing this past. Rather, I am trying to increase awareness about what is in the museum, and the work currently being undertaken there, to stimulate debate. If you want to improve the way the BM engages with non-European cultures, simply making accusations of racism is not going to achieve very much. We cannot change what happened in the past, but we can work together to try and bring about a more positive future. I do not believe that the people who work at the BM today are racist, any more than I am.
Please also take the time to read the ‘about’ section of my blog, as this gives some context for the kinds of posts I make. As you will see, my aim is to share as much information as possible about current events, not to filter out certain things because they are controversial. If my post encouraged somebody to go along, find out more about the history of the BM’s African collections and get involved in the debate, then I consider it worthwhile.
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