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Molemo Moiloa is the Executive Director of Andani Africa and cofounder at Open Restitution Africa. She also lectures at the University of the Witwatersrand, where she received her Master’s degree in Social Anthropology cum laude. She was an Africa No Filter (ANF) Fellow in 2021. Her study explored how art and artefact restitution are being discussed across the continent. At Andani Africa she is involved in various projects engaging with museum practice. At Open Restitution Africa, she is the research lead. She also co-leads The Ungovernable, an experiment in community practice and ungovernability. Molemo is a Soros Arts Fellow 2023/24, was a Chevening Clore Fellow 2016/17, and winner of a Vita Basadi Award for 2017.
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Published Work: Reclaiming Restitution: Centering and Contextualising the African Narrative
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George Abungu is an archaeologist from Kenya, and former director of the National Museums of Kenya. As Chairman of the International Standing Committee on the Traffic of Illicit Antiquities, he has been responsible for the return of stolen artefacts to Kenya and the curtailing of the illegal antiquities trade. Since 2002 he has been the owner and director of Okello Abungu Heritage Consultants.
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Published Work: Universal Museums: New Contestations, New Controversies
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Ore Disu is the Director of the Pavilion at the Museum of West African Art (MOWAA), overseeing heritage initiatives, research, and exhibitions. With a decade of experience, she has driven programs related to public policy, social enterprises, and the creative economy. Her work spans partnerships with organizations like the Ford Foundation, Goethe Institute, and more. Ore holds degrees in Architecture and Urban Development Practice from prestigious institutions.
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Ngaire Blankenberg, founder of the Institute for Creative Repair, is a forward-thinking leader in the world of arts, culture, and heritage. As former Director of the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art, she championed a vision for a 21st-century Global African Art Museum, emphasizing African philosophies and issues of restitution. With over 20 years of expertise, she’s advised more than 55 cultural projects in 35 cities across the globe, encompassing museums, urban development, archives, community engagement, and decolonization. Ngaire’s work fosters transformation, contributing to more regenerative art ecosystems. She’s co-editor of impactful publications urging museums to play a more vital role in equitable, inclusive cities and offering guidance for cultural institutions navigating the digital age.
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Nana Oforiatta Ayim is a writer, filmmaker, and art historian who is a mobilising force in the Presidential Committee on Ghana’s Museums and Cultural Heritage. In her work, she has sought to understand the various relativities of cultural contexts and to give voice to that understanding in a way that speaks to both the actors and communities of that context, as well as the wider world. She is director of the ANO Institute of Arts & Knowledge, through which she has pioneered a pan-African Cultural Encyclopedia, reimagining narratives from across and about the continent; and a Mobile Museums project that travels into communities to collect material culture and exhibits them in those communities to, creating discourse about narratives, memory and value. Ghana announced the Presidential Committee on Ghana’s Museums and Cultural Heritage, a Committee appointed to propose new policies to investigate radical new ways of presenting narratives, as well as engaging communities from across social divides in Ghana, so that they might see themselves properly represented in their museums. Their report is available to the public as of 2021.
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Published Work: Speak Now in Frieze Magazine A New Chapter: Ghana's Museums and Cultural Heritage
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Flower Manase is the Curator of History at the National Museum of Tanzania (Museum and House of Culture, Dar es Salaam) since 2009. Since 2017, she is part of the Tanzanian team working on Maji Maji war booty collections at the Ethnologisches Museum in Berlin.
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Published Work: Restitution and Repatriation of Objects of Colonial Context. The Status of Debates in Tanzania, Uganda, and Kenya National Museums
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Dr. Rudo Sithole is a highly experienced museologist and director in the heritage sector with a passionate focus on African heritage and its restitution. She founded AFRIMUHERE, an association for African museums dedicated to heritage restitution. Dr. Sithole is a key member of the African Union's experts working group on restitution and played a pivotal role in crafting the Common African Position on Restitution. She recently led a comprehensive restitution baseline study across 16 African countries for the Open Society Foundations. Dr. Sithole is an internationally recognized advocate and speaker on African restitution, with extensive experience in directing museums and managing continental museum associations. She holds a PhD, a Master's degree, and BSc degrees in the natural sciences.
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El Hadji Malick Ndiaye holds a doctorate in Art History from Université Rennes II. He is also a graduate of the National Institute of Heritage (Paris) and is a former fellow of the National Institute of Art History (Paris). He is a member of the Orientation Committee of Dak’art 2018 and directed its Commission of Encounters and exchanges. He teaches History of Art and Cultural Heritage, collaborates with several journals and participates in various international scientific activities. As a theoretician and curator, his publications deal with modern / contemporary art and global history, cultural policies and African museum institutions.
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Published Work: Musée, Colonisation, et Restitution (The Museum, Colonization, and Restitution)
