VIRTUAL London Heritages Conference

Abstract

This paper extends the conversation around restitution, African art and heritage through consideration of the various digital methods (3D printing, NFTs, and livestreaming) developed by the Lusanga-based Congolese Plantation Workers Art League (located in DRC) in collaboration with various partner organizations. According to the group’s manifesto their “model turns the digital into a tool for decolonization. For decades people on plantations in Congo and elsewhere have been deprived of their culture, forced into unpaid labour, supporting wealth and art in the global north. In one of the first instances of digital restitution, the league claims their heritage using the magical power of (the digital).” This paper considers the CATPC’s work from 1914 to 2024 to include 3D printed chocolate sculptures, the now infamous Balot NFT, and most recently the livestream connecting the 2024 Venice Biennale with the White Cube gallery in Lusanga, DRC. At the center of this inquiry is the question of how through art and digital means, an interruption to conventional property models may be enacted in the pursuit of restitution of African heritage.