UNEXPECTED LESSONS #4 – Decolonizing Restitution

GBEMI - Performance by Tolulope Ami-Williams @G.A.S. Foundation Lagos

The performance of Tolulope Ami-Williams 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.

In an interactive performance, Tolulope Ami-Williams invited members of the audience to participate in a ritual of cleansing and reconnecting accompanied by a voiceover that echoes with words laden with loss, pain, hope, and healing. The performance was a symbolic allusion to the ongoing process of restitution as African communities reconnect with long-lost artefacts being returned by Western countries.

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 – GBEMI Performance by Tolulope Ami Williams