2024 State of the African art market: Restituted art-works will re-enter the market

ÌMỌ̀ DÁRA’s mission is to connect art collectors with the world’s leading dealers and scholars, based on a foundation of knowledge. It publishes an annual overview in which the voice of the collector is central. The 2024 overview has an interesting chapter on restitution.

The ongoing debate around restitution of cultural artefacts have intensified, especially for African artworks. This highlights the need for museums and collectors “to re-evaluate their collections and the provenance of their acquisitions”, whereby museums are in the forefront.

Almost half of the collectors believe that the debate will clarify what can and cannot be ethically collected. Over half believe selling classical African art will become increasingly difficult.

Almost half expect that restituted art works will eventually re-enter the art market.