Mona Lisa in Bangoulap

What if one day the French cultural administration received a letter from Cameroon demanding free admission to the Paris Museum of Non-European Art because they refuse to spend money to view the artworks of their own ancestors? And what if cultural officials acquiesced in the face of heated debates about art theft and restitution? In Arno Bertina's mischievous fable, Europe is caught up again with its colonial and conquering history, and a cascade of reciprocal demands unfolds, at the end of which is the question of whether the Mona Lisa rather belongs 'back' in Italy or should be loaned to Africa. Based on Bertina's provocative questions, the art historian Bénédicte Savoy deals in a subsequent essay with the currently highly topical discussion about collection histories and museum work in the postcolonial world society. The debates surrounding the Humboldt Forum in Berlin raise questions that are not only about ownership and restitution, but also about the legitimacy of borders and access restrictions.