Former passions and current concerns about African art, identity, and cultural heritage

This paper examines the current state of African art history and material culture and its changing directions since the 1970s when ethnographic fieldwork on historical art and ritual in the rural context was the norm. It points to the significant shift in interest during the last three decades from research and field study on historical arts to contemporary African creativity by artists at home and abroad. In addition, the paper discusses the more recent impact of social and political factors in the Euro-American world challenging the West’s hold on material treasures from Africa acquired during the colonial period and their long-standing Western interpretation and exposure. This focus on the past has set into motion restitution projects and provenance research of illegally acquired museum objects. Given the current divide between scholars of different origins, training, and perspectives, as well as the diverse viewpoints of Afrodescendants across the Western world, issues concerning research methods, provenance, and the return of African collections to their homelands pose many challenges that call for new transparent and collaborative approaches.