confronts the legacies of spanish colonialism both within our history and in society. and after the devastating explosion one month ago in beirut the city's cultural scene is shell shocked and. the debate about how or whether to repatriate art that was acquired by colonial powers most often under brutal circumstances has been raging for some time in the capitals of europe not least here in berlin where the city's long contested who is preparing to house vast ethnological collections of stolen soul is a new documentary that tries to illuminate this debate and get africans to weigh in on possible solutions. africa's colonial overlords brutally strip the continent of countless cultural treasures the fate of these items is debated in needy

w documentary stolen song africa's lifted. people . are like prisoners friends. prisoners. germany's ethnological museums are brimming with artifacts amassed overseas bought traded gifted and leave well over 1500000 of them the issue has politicized the european art sector like no other topic in recent memory and chopped off. the impression that our debate here tends to remain very eurocentric off option b. no one is talking to africans and asking them what. for example what to nigerians in visits for the famous spending in bronzes in $897.00 the british launched a so-called punitive expedition to benny's city the troops looted the royal palace stealing thousands of valuable bronze and i. of reworks and distributed them to

europe's major museums. for young people can see excellent through presentation of the. product. nigeria's contemporary art scene is one of the most vibrant in africa like it nneka art gallery in lagos the gallery owner. would love to see the bronze is back in the country but she's well aware of the challenges. that. the documentary stolen soul collects voices from europe and africa and ultimately poses multiple questions to which there are no easy answers. indeed well joining me now is the author of stolen soul and wood didn't from the w.'s documentary department welcome to the studio and wrote such an impressive overview of this issue you've brought us and yet it's hugely complex the

scope of your film is of course so much broader than what we've seen as a visual anthropologist what were you trying setting out to do with this film i had read a lot about what european museum experts and researches thought about the issue of restitution but there often i felt like african voices were a bit more of a side note so we tried to change that perspective entered it really listen in what african opinions were out there and what i found was that the ideas and hopes of what to do with looted art a very diverse and it's also very controversial debate within african countries so i was really struck by that quote that ethnological museums are like prisons from the one prince and yet the finishing touches are being put on berlin's home but for many people asking the question whether there will be anything to put in it what's the solution in your opinion well 1st of all i think it's quite unrealistic to think that there will be nothing to fill the museums. we saw in the film that there . the return there with the bible to namibia but there was still quite an

exceptional event restitution are rare and the museums are not emptying out now when it comes to solutions there is no quick fix. the problem is that for a very long time germany's colonial legacy has not been addressed by museums or by the public in general so what museums could do is they could work even closer with post colonial initiatives and bring the debate to the museums and when it comes to freeing the objects from the prison aspirins comodo ms says it needs a legal framework and political solutions ok so obviously that's an issue that needs to be taken up with the politicians as as we've talked about earlier and that's perhaps the subject of your next film. with any with at any rate thank you very much for bringing us this job well done and stolen soul for our viewers is available on our you tube channel d w documentary so do be sure to check that out and thanks so much for coming into the studio today and. on the topic of rejecting the rules imposed by

colonialism in our mini series we'll look at how foreign born artists who are based in germany are salvaging cultures that were sidelined by. colombian artist uses his work to challenge the legacy of spanish rule and draw attention to vulnerable communities. espinosa handed out these quakes sculptures to passers by china they weren't so sure what to make of them. but you can already tell their cue cumbers hundreds of. these sensual abstractions are also made of clay. the 1st. time and this. is something. for sure it. is inspired by sculptures from his native colombia where ceramics were once highly

valued cultural objects the spanish. they made by hand the. tricky thing so they this is pretty this is a craft. art projects rules imposed by spanish colonialism the berlin based artist is interested in transgressions including sex in public. in this park where men meet for anonymous encounters installed temporary mirrored structures because. we were used to be free with our body. or. practice it was a. for

the past years espinosa has traveled back to colombia to work with a community of trans sex workers collaborating on projects such as this float for botha's 1st trans march. to call attention to the rampant violence against trans people he helped make ceramic markers for the sites where members of the community have been murdered interventions and performances to work through the traumas of colombia's armed conflict through shame and discrimination as we know says work with trans people is rooted in his admiration for their courage. i was. wondering how they have the balls to do that in a place like colonia that you can be killed or. can't danger how you go and you with 10 ap in the street and you fied the whole think of route.

he created this portable light up sculpture for a performance interest in germany. it works like a kind of allowed but also with all their. cultures to communicate. members of the community joined to the performance by a spinoza and his collaborator orator from. the event marked november the night conflicted date in german history the anniversary both of the fall of the berlin wall and of the nazi program against jews known as. well as pino so once to sound the alarm here in berlin normally the street would be filled with trans sex workers due to the coronavirus they were forced to stay home for months many had no way to pay the rent. to fight the trance is the fight of the woman is the fight of the indigenous is the fight of their after their fight off. we hear

about. weeks. to months espinosa chooses to work with vulnerable communities as he says no wife is more important than another. the paris of the middle east is how beirut was once described a vibrant city with a live for the moment philosophy that was on crushable despite years of civil war destruction religious strife and corruption a thriving cultural scene was also a spring of hope until august 4th when 2700 tons of ammonium nitrate blew the city's port to smithereens. in the days following the explosion anger in beirut through not a single building was left on damaged in the residential area behind the poor in recent years and not seen had emerged harking back to the cosmopolitan beirut of old many hoped it heralded a more liberal minded city now this hype has been destroyed. this museum for

contemporary art was me i opened in 2015 following a long period of renovation it was a place where people could enjoy art free of charge to the 4th. when the explosion occurred the last visitors had left for the day ringback directors and i read i was still in her office it's a miracle she wasn't injured what i've gone through or really i was like i was shot by a sniper or in 78 i was 8 years old i was at the beach since i was inside no kid it's our generation the war generation who did not want to forget who want to talk and risk and who threw the cup ters artistic initiatives we have been witnessing non-responsibility of the government and of course a civil society that is more and more. like acting as if it could placing the state

which we have already been doing for the past 30 years. the true mother of lebanon civil war that ravaged the city is still very present the 15 year long conflict ended in 1990 terror attacks assassinations and economic collapse followed in a state in which the austerity seemed to have given up critics say this year's explosion was an accident but not a coincidence. this is something easy and will be rebuilt the building needs to be secured before the harsh weather sets in help is coming from all over the world . but zain i read out says simply rebuilding what was there before is not enough this time. i'm committed to the museum i'm committed but i don't know how long i don't know how long i'm committed that depend i'm committed to my country depending on the call it is going to i mean

we are ready we are ready to govern this country. and our thoughts are with the people of lebanon as they rebuild yet again well that's all for this edition of arts and culture so until we meet again all the best for last here in berlin and to stay safe.

to the point sean opinions clear positions international perspectives. a geo political storm is brewing in the eastern mediterranean and strangely enough it's 2 nato allies that are stoking the tensions in turkey versus greece is our no one willing to risk war that's our talk the content of money to the point cut ended up being 30 minutes on the t.w. . the riches of the earth. and jobs for everyone. the promise of lasting prosperity. for mcmurray canada. distance atop one of the planet's largest oil reserves. but what should have been a sensationally lucky strike turned into

a nightmare. dark eating. in 75 minutes on t w. a meal some good welcome to the 2nd season of all the good stuff it's about the environment it's still about society it's still about us with all climates on the brain we spoke to some of the leading let's close in the fish. hook up just to get only the photos of. the. beethoven is for me. beethoven is for you. to be tougher as for help. beethoven is for.

the time for is for. beethoven is for us. is for. beethoven 202250th anniversary year long d. . this is d w news and these are our top stories russia is dismissing allegations that it was behind the poisoning of opposition leader alexei navalny chancellor angela merkel has said germany has unequivocal proof that not all me was poisoned with a military nerve agent the kremlin insists berlin has produced no evidence to back

the claims. of u.s. democratic presidential candidate candidate joe biden has met with the fam.