What is left behind when cultural artefacts are torn from their context, robbed of their history and exhibited as "gifts" in Western museums? The exhibition A Gift or a Theft brings together artistic positions of a student, a graduate and a former guest student of the Gemstone and Jewellery Campus, which deal with colonial distortions, stolen symbolism and cultural restitution.
Poras Dhakan confronts the colonial past with resistance: his works range from symbolic "weapons" against the consequences of colonial violence to photographic works that visualise manipulated narratives. Julia Obermaier directly addresses the issue of restitution and confronts the viewer with the responsibility for historical injustice. Anvita Jain, on the other hand, takes on cultural symbols that have been torn away from cultures and transferred to other contexts - critically, questioningly, artistically multi-layered.
The event begins at 6pm with an informal drinks reception. This will be followed by a documentary film about looted colonial art. The event will conclude with a panel discussion with the artists, moderated by Julia Wild, teacher at the Gemstone and Jewellery Campus, who will explore the context of the works in greater depth and encourage an open debate on the topic.
Datum: July 9 2025
Uhrzeit: 6-9pm
Adress: ACHAT Hotel "Zum Schwan", Hauptstraße 25, 55743 Idar-Oberstein
Free admission
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