12 p.m.
Join us for a talk from artist, scholar, and activist Sam Hopkins as he discusses his practice and current research at the National Museum of African Art into the remarkable return of the Afo-a-Kom. In 1966, this sacred carved figure was stolen from the kingdom of Kom in east Cameroon, only to reappear several years later for sale in a gallery in Manhattan. Hopkins will follow this history and the Afo-A-Kom’s eventual repatriation to Cameroon in 1973, particularly focusing on the key role of Warren M. Robbins, founder of the National Museum of African Art, in the negotiations.
Hopkins is a current Smithsonian Artist Research Fellow whose work is in the collection of this museum. Rooted in Kenya, his practice focuses on how truths are encoded and produced by different media while engaging with specific communities to collectively interrupt authoritative narratives of power.
Free and open to the public
