UNEXPECTED LESSONS #4 – Decolonizing Restitution

Spoken words performance by AYOMIDE FASEDU @G.A.S. Foundation Lagos

Ayomide Fasedu's spoken word performance was part of UNEXPECTED LESSONS #4, an event that took place on Friday, February 10, 2023, from 4pm to 9pm. In light of the recent returns of the Benin Bronzes from Germany to Nigeria, UNEXPECTED LESSONS #4 focused on the theme Resitution.

During Ayomide Fasedus spoken words performance she presents two poems and one reading in which she ruminated on the themes of power, colonialism, the cultural erosion induced by the colonisation of Africa, and the ongoing attempted reclamation. In her second poem, Fasedu reflects on the rhetoric surrounding the restitution and repatriation conversations. “Dear coloniser,” she says, “don't talk to me about safety”. She cites the violent legacy of the West in their acquisition of these objects in retort to headlines that read, “Where do African artists belong? Are they better left in museums?”. The artist offers hope with a closing reading from her own publication, The Ashes Have Their Own Stories.

UNEXPECTED LESSONS #04 was organized by Dr. Mahret Ifeoma Kupka during her residency at the G.A.S. Foundation in Lagos Nigeria, as part of TURN 2 — Kulturstiftung des Bundes. UNEXPECTED LESSONS #4 was supported by the Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung in Nigeria.

UNEXPECTED LESSONS #4 @ G.A.S. Foundation Lagos – Spoken words performance by AYOMIDE FASEDU