Join the Indianapolis Museum of Art and Axiell on September 11, 2025 to learn about the IMA’s return of 18 vigango, memorial statues that honor ancestors, to the Mijikenda people in Kenya. More than a symbolic act, this return became a catalyst for institutional change, prompting the museum to examine long-standing practices and to align its policies with evolving standards of cultural stewardship.
Webinar
Bringing Ancestors Home: The Whos, Hows, and to Whoms of Returning Vigango to the Mijikenda people
As the call for museums to pursue repatriation continues to make headlines, this presentation will explore how the act of return can be a catalyst for change at an institutional level. The Indianapolis Museum of Art returned 18 ancestors to their owners, the Mijikenda people, in Kenya, in October 2022 and participated in a ceremonial return in July 2023. This experience helped prompt the IMA to grapple with the long overdue reconciliation of ethics, policy, and collection practices. Attendees will learn how this example of repatriation was implemented, start to finish.
Host: Jennifer Gallatin Rigsby, Registrar for Permanent Collections at the Indianapolis Museum of Art at Newfields
