African Cultural Patrimony in An Age of New Digital Image Regimes

What is the disposition of contested cultural objects in an age of digital media? I propose to explore how new digital image regimes complicate calls for reparations, restitution and resolution of African Cultural Patrimony held in Western museums and institutions. The need to repatriate African cultural patrimony is now a global issue. I argue that returning the artworks is merely one part of a bigger issue concerning the ownership and management of digital rights to the artworks. Digital museums disseminated over technology platforms and social networks are fast becoming the norm along with 3D printing capabilities that allow for reproduction of artworks that are indistinguishable from the originals. These developments raise a number of legal issues ranging from copyright to image rights and data protection to contract law. The future of wealth is in control of intellectual property rights of specific cultural properties. We need a discourse that recognizes African ownership of the intellectual property rights of its cultural patrimony, and safeguards the rights of African countries to manage and benefit from the ancillary values produced by such cultural properties. These include image rights, reproduction rights (digital or otherwise), licensing of these artworks for various purposes, and of course publication and educational protocols that disseminate important information about returned artworks. I will therefore explore how the discourse on repatriation and restitution is affected by new digital image regimes that monetize cultural production, and how these new regimes might undermine the entire premise of repatriation and restitution of African cultural patrimony.