Photo © Nicolas Maeterlinck
In recent years, there has been growing social and political debate surrounding the colonial past shared by Belgium and Congo, prompting a number of initiatives taken in public spaces, research, museum collections, and so on.
It was in this context that Philippe, king of the Belgians, travelled to Congo for the first time in June 2022. He expressed his deepest regrets for the wounds of the colonial past and presented a Kakungu mask to Congolese president Félix Tshisekedi. The mask of the Suku people, from the region of Kwango, has been in the collections of the AfricaMuseum since 1954. It is now on a long-term loan to the Musée national de la République démocratique du Congo (MNRDC).
In January 2024, the AfricaMuseum inaugurated ReThinking Collections, an exhibition on provenance research regarding objects from Africa, including the Kakungu mask. The bulk of the museum's collections were assembled during the colonial period in present-day Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Summary of the documentary
After nearly 70 years in the AfricaMuseum, the Kakungu mask is back in Congo. Despite a festive ceremony in the museum, the mask remains the property of Belgium, causing unrest among the Congolese population and the Suku community. Tracing the history of the mask from the forgotten village where it once played a traditional role to the colonial legacy it now carries, the documentary raises the question: shouldn’t the source community be involved more? Without its true meaning, heritage just remains a lifeless museum piece.
Programme
15:00 – 15:15
Opening remarks by moderator Katrien Vanderschoot (journalist, VRT) and Sofie Bouillon (head of Exhibitions, AfricaMuseum)
Presentation of the documentary by Rudi Vranckx (journalist, VRT)
15:15 – 15:45
Documentary screening (subtitles in Dutch and French)
15:45 – 16:15
Panel 1: How did the documentary come about?
Panel discussion with Don Moussa Pandzou, Job van Nieuwenhove and Adriaan De Loore
16:15 – 17:00
Panel 2: How do you deal with the colonial past?
Panel discussion with anthropologist Placide Mumbembele (professor, Université de Kinshasa), PhD researcher Lies Busselen (Katholieke Universiteit Leuven), historian and professor Gillian Mathys (Ghent University) and educator Mireille-Tsheusi Robert (president, Bamko asbl/vzw)
17:00 – 17:30
Audience Q&A and discussion
