This 24-hour pledge, issued directly by the museum’s director, Yannick Linz, arrives on the heels of France taking definitive legislative action to right historical wrongs. On April 13, the French National Assembly unanimously passed a landmark bill designed to streamline and simplify the process of returning cultural relics that were plundered by France during its colonial era. The vote was a rare display of political unity.
Courtesy Musée Guimet
As part of the amendment, nations receiving returned artifacts must commit to managing the heritage according to international standards, ensuring that these historic treasures remain accessible to the public. For Gen Z and young adults globally, who have increasingly called out the colonial legacies of major Western museums, this is exactly the kind of concrete action they’ve been demanding.
Director Yannick Linz, Musée Guimet – Couyrtesy Shanghai Museum
Yannick Linz became director of Musée Guimet in 2022. She considered it as her first task to transform a 20th-century museum into a 21st-century museum. After taking office, she immediately clarified her vision of making the Guimet Museum a more popular cultural landmark, with a particular focus on attracting young audiences and family groups.
She considers the Musée Guimet ‘the gateway for Europeans to China’.
