“Out of the shadows: a plea for greater attention to Burundi in provenance research“

Between 1896-1916 today's Burundi was a German colony as part of what was known as ‘German East Africa’. Not only in colonial historiography, but also in provenance research, Burundi has been largely underrepresented and, similar to Rwanda, stands ‘in the shadow’ of the reappraisal of the material cultural heritage of present-day Tanzania.

On Monday, 26 January 2026, at 6 pm, the Deutsches Zentrum Kulturgutverluste will host the Kolloquium “Out of the shadows: a plea for greater attention to Burundi in provenance research“ with Jean Berchmans Ndihokubwayo.

The event will take place at Deutsches Zentrum Kulturgutverluste, Außenstelle Berlin, Seydelstraße 18, 10117 Berlin.

It is possible to join the event via Webex.

The colloquium has three objectives:

  • Firstly, to provide an introductory overview of Burundian cultural heritage in German museums and the contexts in which these objects were acquired.
  • Secondly, to highlight challenges for provenance research like the archival landscape and to identify gaps, including the possible whereabouts of human remains.
  • And thirdly, to take a look at Burundi’s politics of memory regarding German colonialism and political processes such as potential restitution claims.

 

Participation is free of charge, but only possible after registration by 23 January 2026 via e-mail at veranstaltungen@kulturgutverluste.de . When registering, we kindly ask you to indicate whether you would like to participate on site or via livestream. Participants of the livestream will receive their access data on the day of the event.