This session extends our focus on exiled, displaced, and looted audiovisual collections in (post)colonial contexts, addressing pressing questions of return, restitution, and repatriation. We are thrilled to welcome Dr. Nikolaus Perneczky, who will share insights from his ongoing research on African film heritage.

Together, we will discuss how (state) archival institutions might re-engage with colonial collections without perpetuating paradigms of surveillance, domination, and extraction. This session will also explore alternative practices of custodianship and care, asking:

• How can archival sovereignty and community-based archival capacity be strengthened through alternative practices?
• What does an ethics of care look like for displaced and looted audiovisual collections?

The accompanying reading group meets on Friday, December 6th, from 15:00-18:00 at BuzzHouse, located in the Humanities Venture Lab (OMHP).

Please email Asli Özgen-Havekotte (a.ozgen-havekotte@uva.nl) or Jamil Fiorino Habib (j.fiorinohabib@uva.nl) for access to the readings and updates about future sessions.