In 2014, a “Group of Six,” consisting of African and diaspora activists were involved in the reorganization of the museum, notably initiating the Afropea room, which highlights the history of Black people in Belgium. During their tenure, they emphasized the apparent lack of critical reflection during the museum’s reopening.
“The humanities, the colonial legacy, were sidelined during the reorganization. Yet the colonial legacy persists through the economy (globalization) and the appropriation of resources (extractivism) such as lithium,” says Yasmina Zian.
She adds that this avoidance is also reflected in the museum’s name, renamed the Africa Museum. “It’s absurd, as many have already pointed out, because most of the collections come from the Congo!” she notes.
Despite these criticisms, Yasmina Zian points to a “great success”: the decolonial tours organized by Afro-descendant associations, such as Fémiya and the Collective for Colonial Memory and the Fight Against Discrimination (CMCLD).
“It’s a partnership that is undoubtedly not entirely altruistic on the part of the museum, but it’s an intelligent one, as this collaboration allows for critical discourse to exist within the museum itself. To my knowledge, it’s the only partnership of this kind in Europe,” she concludes. However, much work remains, particularly the thorny issue of the restitution of the artworks.
