Museum collections - whether archaeological or scientific - often contain numerous human remains of various kinds: bones, anatomical preparations, relics or even mummies. Collected over the centuries under conditions that are sometimes unknown, violent or that no longer meet today's standards, these remains are now at the heart of numerous debates. Their provenance, the circumstances of their appropriation, their trajectory, their use in exhibitions and their eventual return to their community of origin are all points that need to be clarified.

This round table brings together artists, specialists and committed individuals working on the issue of the restitution of human remains in Switzerland.

Echoing the show The Ghosts are Returning by GROUP50:50 as part of the exhibition Mémoires. Genève dans le monde colonial, which runs at MEG until 5 January 2025, it will be an opportunity to reflect on the complex and important issues surrounding this theme, as well as to consider possible contemporary perspectives.

Speakers:

• Taline Garibian (moderator): Historian, her research focuses on the history of medicine, the history of mass violence and the politics of remembrance.

• Anne Mayor: Archaeologist, director of the ARCAN laboratory (African Archaeology and Anthropology) at the University of Geneva, member of the anthropological collections commission of the Faculty of Science.

• Patrick Mudekereza: Writer and exhibition curator. He is co-director of the show "Le Retour des Fantômes".

• Deneth Piumakshi Veda Arachchige: I am a multidisciplinary artist from Kurunegala, Sri Lanka, based in the French Alps and working between Sri Lanka, France and Switzerland. I work with photography, audio and video, painting and printing on textiles and embroidery on different surfaces. The subjects I focus on are forgotten colonial histories, restitution, immigration, the Sri Lankan diaspora, the injustice of immigrant women workers, the stories of children growing up in war and conflict zones and silent feminists. I have been invited to exhibit at the 12th Berlin Biennale in 2022 and over the past 24 years I have exhibited in Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, India, USA, Palestine, France, Germany and Switzerland. I have also been invited to exhibit my work at the Swiss National Exhibition in 2024.

• Carine Ayélé Durand: a social anthropologist, obtained her doctorate from Cambridge University in 2010. Over the last 20 years, she has held various positions as curator and researcher in cultural heritage in France, the UK, Sweden and Spain. She was chief curator of the MEG between 2015 and 2022, and has been its director since July 2022.

Duration: 1h30
Times: 2pm-3.30pm
Venue: MEG - Temporary exhibition "Memories. Geneva in the colonial world" temporary exhibition
Ages 16 and up.
Admission is free and no registration is required.
In collaboration with the festival La Bâtie, the MEG, the UNIGE, the GTG and the TFM.