Museums Rethink What to Do with Their African Art Collections

Recently, a discussion is happening in museums around the world over the volume of African art in their collections. Officials in Germany and the Netherlands have announced plans to return art and artifacts（文物）taken from Africa during the【小题1】period. And more museum staff are meeting on the topic across Europe.

According to the most commonly【小题2】figures from UNESCO（United Nations Educational, Scientifie and Cultural Organization）, 90% to 95%of sub-Saharan cultural artifacts are【小题3】outside Africa. Many were taken by force long ago and ended up in museums across Europe and North America.

At the Africa Museum in Belgium, director Guido Gryseels says 85 percent of the-museum’s collection comes from the Congo-the site of Belgium’s【小题4】colony in Central Africa. For decades, Congolese leaders have asked for these objects to be returned. Most of their【小题5】, and those by African countries to other museums, have been refused.

But recent events in Europe have【小题6】the possibility of returns at a much larger scale. In addition to the plans announced in Germany, last year France conducted a study of how much African art French museums are holding and made【小题7】about what to do with it.

The study recommended the return of a wide range of objects taken by force. The suggestion got mixed【小题8】in France, where there are at least 90000 African items in museums.

In France, some people have suggested returns could leave shelves【小题9】in French museums. Cecile Fromont, a French historian of Central African art, says that’s not going to happen. One way of thinking about it, she says, is that more African art can go on display.

However, Guido Gryseels of the Africa Museum in Belgium【小题10】that attitudes are changing. He says he’s in discussion with the Congo to return works.

Letters Brought Back to Life

Letters as a way of communication have long given way to phone calls and WeChat messages. But a TV show, Letters Alive, is helping bring this old way to keep in touch back into the 【小题1】.

Letters Alive took its idea from a UK program with a similar name, Letters Live. Both shows 【小题2】 famous actors and actresses, but there is no gossip, no eye-catching visual effects. Instead, it’s just one person walking up to a microphone and reading a letter.

But these are not just any letters. They vary greatly in time and subjects. There is, for example, a passionate letter that famous painter Huang Yongyu wrote to playwright Cao Yu 30 years ago to 【小题3】 his lack of creativity. There is also a(n) 【小题4】 note from Spring and Autumn Period written by two ordinary young soldiers to their elder brother to report their lives in the war zone.

Compared to published texts, letters also come with a personal 【小题5】.

One example from Letters Live was a note of 【小题6】 from the mother of a dying child to JK Rowling, author of the Harry Potter books. It read: “Mrs Rowling, cancer threatened to take everything from my daughter, and your books turned out to be the castle we so 【小题7】 needed to hide in.”

According to Guan Zhengwen, the director of Letters Alive, it is this kind of 【小题8】 behind every letter that strikes a harmony with the audience. “It’s a thing of the past that entertainment shows 【小题9】 themselves only with pretty faces,” Guan told Sohu News. “Entertainment industry is starting to switch to a(n) 【小题10】 on wisdom and intelligence.”