The Humboldt Forum in Berlin has announced that it will not display the Benin Bronzes<\/a> that have long been held in the collection of Berlin\u2019s Ethnological Museum. Moreover, on Monday, Hartmut Dorgerloh, general director of the Humboldt Forum, said he anticipates that the works will soon be returned to their home in Africa. \u201cAs far as we know today, the Benin bronzes were largely acquired illegally,\u201d Dorgerloh said in a statement<\/a>. \u201cI share the conviction that there must and will be restitutions.\u201d The announcement follows meetings between Germany\u2019s director general of cultural affairs for the German Ministry of Affairs, Andreas G\u00f6rgen, and the governor of the Nigerian state of Edo, Godwin Obaseki. But, the topic has been a point of contention for years and most recently, B\u00e9n\u00e9dicte Savoy<\/a>, co-author of a major report on restitution commissioned in 2018 by French President Emmanuel Macron, has been calling on Germany to restitute the Benin Bronzes. The final decision to return the bronze works, which were stolen by British troops in the late 1800s, is up to the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation, which manages Berlin\u2019s public institutions, but Dorgerloh says the return of the works is \u201cexpected<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Just days after the news came out that the Humboldt Forum is seeking out means to repatriate their holdings of Benin Bronzes, Scotland\u2019s University of Aberdeen followed suit. The school announced this week that it will return a Benin Bronze that it purchased in 1957. Neil Curtis, head of museum and special collections at the university said that the purchase was \u201cextremely immoral.\u201d Echoing those sentiments, George Boyne, principle and vice chancellor of the university, said in a statement, \u201cIt would not have been right to have retained an item of such great cultural importance that was acquired in such reprehensible circumstances. We therefore decided that an unconditional return is the most appropriate action we can take, and are grateful for the close collaboration with our partners in Nigeria.\u201d The University of Aberdeen only holds one Benin Bronze, a sculpture depicting a ruler known as the Oba<\/em>, in comparison to the hundreds of bronzes held in collections across Europe. However, the university will be the first such institution to do so and it will set a president that no matter how many stolen goods are held in collections, they should be returned. \u201cThe reaching out by the University of Aberdeen and eventual release of the priceless antiquity is a step in the right direction,\u201d said<\/a> Alhaji Lai Mohammed, Nigerian minister of information and culture, said in a statement. \u201cOther holders of Nigerian antiquity ought to emulate this to bring fairness to the burning issue of repatriation.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Ga\u00efa Fodoulian, a 29-year-old cultural producer, was one of the many people who lost their lives in the Beirut explosions that occurred in August<\/a> of last year. Now, her mother, Annie Vartivarian, is honouring Fodoulian\u2019s legacy with a new online arts platform. Titled AD Leb, which stands for Art Design Lebanon, the platform was the brainchild of Fodoulian and she was working on the project before her death. AD Leb will offer virtual gallery space for artists from Lebanon and those from other places in the Middle East. Now, thanks to the work of Vartivarian, who also leads Laetitia Gallery in Beirut, AD Leb will launch on April 4th<\/sup> alongside an in-person exhibition called \u201cEveryone is the creator of one\u2019s own faith,\u201d a nod to the last Facebook post published by Fodoulian just hours before the explosions. The exhibition is one of the first large-scale exhibitions to be held in the Lebanese capital since its arts community was impacted by the disaster. To be held in the historic Tabbal building, the show will include works primarily by Lebanese artists alongside works by Middle Eastern artists. The launch of the gallery comes at a time when Lebanon is struggling through an economic crisis compounded by the pandemic. Many, including many artists, have left the country for other parts of Europe or the Middle East. Vartivarian, though, hope that AD Leb will help strengthen and rebuild the arts community of Beirut. \u201cGa\u00efa\u00a0would have wanted to help keep the creative scene of her country alive,\u201d Vartivarian told<\/a> Artnet News<\/em>. \u201cWe continue to live in great hardship in Lebanon. The situation has gotten worse, but people still express themselves through art. They try and channel their fears, their trauma, and their hopes through creative means.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n The Ghent Altarpiece is not only one of the most important artworks in the canon of art history, it\u2019s also the most-stolen artwork<\/a>. Consisting of 12 panels, various parts of the polyptych have been stolen on seven different occasions and one panel of the massive painting has never been recovered. So, it\u2019s no surprise that after a major seven-year long restoration<\/a>, the altarpiece\u2019s new home is a \u00a326 million bulletproof glass case. The newly-restored altarpiece, created by Hubert and Jan van Eyck in 1432, was unveiled this week in its new home situated in the Sacrament chapel of St Bavo\u2019s Cathedral in Ghent, Belgium. The case will offer protection over the artwork in a number of ways but it\u2019s also meant to improve visitor experience in viewing the incredibly detailed artwork. The case will provide climate control for the painting as the chapel can get as chilly as 2\u00baC during the winter months. Within the case, the altarpiece rests on a steel frame that has pneumatically controlled wings so that the altarpiece can be slowly opened and closed each day without opening the case. In case of emergencies, the chapel has been retrofitted with large security doors which required changes to the chapel\u2019s walls. The altarpiece underwent extensive restoration that saw overpainting and varnishes removed, revealing the van Eyck brothers\u2019 original painting \u2013 and the controversial face of the Lamb of God<\/a>. \u201cBoth the magnificent restoration and the circumstances in which the Ghent Altarpiece can now be admired are astonishing,\u201d said<\/a> Jan Jambon, prime minister of Flanders, at the unveiling of the restored work in its new home. \u201cThe splendour of colours, the details, the lighting: everything is perfect. That makes us proud. We are pleased that the Flemish government was able to contribute to this and that we can show this masterpiece to our children and grandchildren and hopefully soon to many tourists.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n The Serpentine Galleries in London have further separated themselves from the Sackler Family, founders and former owners of Purdue Pharma, which created and marketed the highly addictive pain medication OxyContin. The London museum has removed the Sackler name<\/a> from a gallery although the building that the gallery is in reportedly still holds the Sackler name. Formerly known as the Serpentine Sackler Gallery, the area of the museum is now known as the Serpentine North Gallery. The Serpentine Galleries announced in 2019 that they would no longer accept donations from the Sacklers. While this move could be an extension of the distancing process, a spokesperson for the museum said that the Serpentine is undertaking a \u201crebranding process<\/a>\u201d that has led to the removal of the Sackler name on the gallery. \u201cWe recently introduced new way-finding terminology to help visitors distinguish between the two galleries,\u201d they continued. \u201cThese terms will appear on the website and on all marketing materials.\u201d<\/p>\n In this week\u2019s Art World Roundup\u2026 The Humboldt Forum announces it \u201cexpects\u201d to repatriate Benin Bronzes to Nigeria and days later, the University of Aberdeen made a similar announcement. The mother of a cultural producer who died in the Beirut explosions continues her daughters work in launching new online arts platform, the Ghent Altarpiece gets […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_vp_format_video_url":"","_vp_image_focal_point":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/www.art-critique.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Benin-Bronzes.jpg?resize=1024%2C721&ssl=1\")
Also in Benin Bronze news\u2026<\/strong><\/h6>\n
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A mom in Beirut keeps daughter\u2019s legacy alive with AD Leb<\/strong><\/h6>\n
The Ghent Altarpiece gets a brand new home<\/strong><\/h6>\n
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Sackler name removed from one more gallery<\/strong><\/h6>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/www.art-critique.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Serpentine_Sackler_Gallery.jpg?resize=1024%2C768&ssl=1\")