What do museums, a French jewellery heist, and a Nigerian king have in common? Apparently, they’re all part of the same robbery!
From the Louvre to the British Museum, cultural institutions around the world are sitting on collections of artefacts acquired through centuries of colonial conquest, looting, and questionable ownership. But what happens when the people who lost their treasures finally come knocking?
On this episode of Uncultured, Korede Kaneto Akinsete investigates the curious world of museum robberies, tracing the story from the seven-minute heist at the Louvre to the Great British Palm Oil Heist, the looting of the Benin Kingdom, and the global fight to bring stolen African artefacts home. Along the way, we're joined by Lagos-based curator and art dealer Sunshine Alaibe, who unpacks the origins of museums, the politics of art restitution, and why returning the Benin Bronzes is about so much more than getting a few shiny objects back.
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