BRATTLEBORO-Windham World Affairs Council (WWAC) and the Brattleboro Museum & Art Center (BMAC) will host Pierre Losson, who holds a doctorate in political science from City University of New York, to discuss the legal, political, and ethical questions that drive the movement to return cultural objects. The talk will take place on Saturday, March 1, at 5:30 p.m., at the Brattleboro Museum & Art Center, 10 Vernon St.
Pressure has been mounting for Western museums to return archaeological artifacts, artworks, and human remains acquired over previous decades and centuries under conditions that are currently considered ethically questionable.
Some of the questions Losson addresses include what value do we give to objects of ancestral origin? What are the different approaches that are being taken to repatriate historical treasures, and what barriers stand in the way of these efforts? Are Western museums at risk of being emptied of their precious collections and of losing their role as custodians of humanity's past?
"The restitution of cultural heritage is one of the biggest challenges facing Western museums in the 21st century, but museum curators are not the only stakeholders," noted Losson in a news release. "We all as citizens can participate in the redefinition of what the role of museums will be in the next decades and what our museums should conserve and display - or not. I look forward to exchanging with a Brattleboro audience on these issues."
Losson's research focuses on the return and restitution of cultural heritage objects as well as cultural policy in Latin America. His book, The Return of Cultural Heritage to Latin America: Nationalism, Policy, and Politics in Colombia, Mexico, and Peru, first published by Routledge in 2022, was published in Spanish by Fondo de Cultura Económica in 2024.
He has published peer-reviewed articles in scholarly publications such as the International Journal of Cultural Policy, the International Journal of Heritage Studies, and Studies in Conflict & Terrorism, and articles and op-eds in publications such as Le Monde and Hyperallergic, an online arts magazine. He has given classes at Hunter College, Lehman College, and Yeshiva University. He currently lives in New York City and works at City College of New York (CCNY).
Losson has held several positions in French cultural centers in Mexico City (Mexico) and Lima (Peru), where he lived for 10 years. After graduating in international relations from the Institut d'Etudes Politiques of Strasbourg (France), he completed a master's in arts administration from the University of Lyon (France), and a masters in Latin American and Caribbean Studies from Florida International University.
"We are excited to partner with the Brattleboro Museum & Art Center on this important discussion," said Merrill Sovner, a member of the WWAC board. "The questions around how to return cultural heritage objects to their countries of origin touch on questions of decolonization, inequality and identity, are salient issues to our understanding of both world affairs and artistic value."
For more information about this and future Salons, email [email protected].
The event is free with a suggested donation of $10. Online viewing option is available when you reserve your seat at culturalobjects.eventbrite.com.
This Arts item was submitted to The Commons.