When the International Inventories Programme began, participants brought diverse perspectives to the table. For Juma Ondeng of the National Museums of Kenya, the timing was significant: “It came at a time when provenance research was being talked of and people were expecting the release of the Sarr-Savoy report. It was clear we had very different opinions... we had activists who wanted things to be done immediately and people from national institutions like us, who had to be very diplomatic.”

For Clara Himmelheber from Cologne’s Rautenstrauch-Joest Museum, the project offered a chance to examine less spectacular but equally important collections: “In our collection we have around eighty objects from Kenya: mainly textiles and clothes, some weapons and lots of ‘souvenirs’ bought by tourists. I thought it was interesting to see that museum collections do not only consist of things stolen during colonial times.”

The collaboration revealed surprising gaps in each institution’s knowledge. As Ondeng explains, “There are objects that you have that we do not. We only know them from colonial photography. Having visited your storage facilities and seeing them in real life has revived a kind of memory in us, which we have then passed on to communities in Kenya.”

These exchanges proved transformative for all involved. Leonie Neumann from the Weltkulturen Museum in Frankfurt noted, “What is especially important here is the Kenyan knowledge, that these voices are heard. In the past, it was always us Europeans talking about these objects.”

The project ultimately challenged assumptions on all sides. During a public discussion at the National Museums of Kenya, Himmelheber had a revelation: “People from the audience got up and said that we (as staff of German museums) were thieves, that it was problematic working with us... I realised how difficult it must be for IIP to work with us, that my colleagues might also encounter problems because they work with us.”

For Ondeng, the journey changed both personal and institutional perspectives: “Initially, NMK as an institution was not so interested in the ongoing debates. The position was that Kenyan objects are like our cultural ambassadors. We did not want to stir up a hornet’s nest by questioning the objects’ provenance. But so much has happened since the project started, both to me as an individual and also to the NMK as an institution.”

These excerpts offer just a glimpse into the in-depth discussions, research findings, and critical reflections contained in the full ‘Invisible Inventories’ zine. This limited-edition publication features additional articles, object biographies, visual documentation of the exhibitions, and further perspectives on museum politics and restitution debates.

The complete zine is available in both print and digital editions through Soma Nami Books (Kenya) and Iwalewa Books (Germany).
Support this groundbreaking work and deepen your understanding of these complex issues by exploring the complete publication.