Alexander Koch

NFTs AS A TOOL FOR DECOLONIZING THE MUSEUM

In February 2022, the Congolese Plantation Workers Art League (CATPC) minted the Balot NFT – a first case of digital restitution. The original Balot sculpture, created in 1931 in the Democratic Republic of Congo as a protective force against colonial violence, is now owned by the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (USA). After the institution refused to loan the object for an exhibition at CATPC's own museum in Congo, local artists created the Balot NFT to establish digital ownership of the sculpture and, through the sale of an NFT edition, to generate new resources for the independent and sustainable development of the local community.

Alexander Koch is a curator, author and gallery owner, as well as a mediator, lecturer and consultant. He is co-founder of the KOW Gallery in Berlin and the New Clients in Germany programme, which he directs.

https://www.humanactivities.org/en/balot/
https://balot.org/manifesto/
https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2022/feb/19/congolese-statue-loan-legal-battle-nfts-colonial-rule-us-museum
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ARuONy-NH-o
https://vimeo.com/676368516