Should Museums Give Things Back?
Should museums return antiquities and other valuable objects to their countries or cultures of origin? This contrarian respondent says: “Cultural institutions have been on the defensive for decades, poorly firefighting accusations of didacticism, elitism, colonisation and looting, with ill-thought through mumbling and evasion. Now more than ever, museums need to stand up for themselves. For instance, several North American museums were recently rocked by claims from countries including Italy that objects in their collections were acquired illicitly.”
