Reflections on Custodianship and Repatriation of Cultural Objects

A huge number of ancient artefacts, First Nations' ceremonial objects and precious art sits in museums, galleries, private collections all over the world — with polite plaques. But their history is often messier than the plaques suggest. Throughout its reign, the British Empire 'stole' a lot of stuff. One of the arguably most controversial examples are the Parthenon Marbles, a collection of sculptural reliefs from the temple of Athena (the Parthenon) on the Acropolis in Greece. The second season of the TV documentary Stuff The British Stole has started on ABC TV and ABC iView. This discussion was presented by the National Gallery of Australia. The ABC acknowledges the National Gallery of Australia for their support with setting up this event and their assistance to guest speakers and ABC staff.

Speakers

Marc FennellHost of the podcast and TV series Stuff the British StoleWakely-award winning journalist and documentary-maker

Adjunct Professor Margo Ngawa NealeEmeritus Curatorial Fellow: First Nations at the National Museum of Australia, former Head of the Centre for Indigenous Knowledges. Born and raised on Gunai/ Kurnai country with other clan affiliations to Gumbaynggirr and Wiradjuri nations

Dr Nick MitzevitchDirector of the National Gallery of Australia

Santilla Chingaipe (host)Zambian-born Australian historian, journalist, and filmmaker