Claudia Roth finds out about African research at the University of Bayreuth 

The Benin bronzes, the cuts in international academic exchange, contemporary culture from Africa, the concentrated expertise of African research, the transfer of knowledge between the Global South and the Global North: The range of topics was immense when Claudia Roth, the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media, visited the Iwalewahaus at the University of Bayreuth.. 

The visitors were given selected insights into research at the Cluster: The art scholar Prof. Dr Adepeju Layiwola from the University of Lagos (Nigeria), who will be a guest in the Cluster of Excellence's Fellow Programme in Bayreuth in the summer semester of 2022 (left), is studying the careers of African women artists and artistic practices in Africa. Diana Kisakye (2nd from left), a doctoral student in political science, is investigating the role of transnational courts in regional integration. Thierry Boudjekeu (right), PhD student in Romance Literary Studies, works on the impact of world heritage sites in the context of the memory of the transatlantic slave trade. They presented their work to the concentrated interest of the visitors. The topic of decolonisation was also discussed: Claudia Roth (middle) specifically asked for the expertise of the Bayreuth researchers in order to get suggestions for her plan to create more awareness for the effects of colonisation.

In this context, Claudia Roth was also interested in the position of those present on the topic of the return of art objects and cultural assets that were illegally brought to Europe from Africa during the colonial period. The Minister of State noted with appreciation that the Cluster of Excellence at the University of Bayreuth made it possible to remain in an ongoing dialogue. 

 The venue for this meeting was well chosen: The Iwalewahaus has been in close exchange with African artists for over 40 years. This has resulted in an extensive art collection that is permanently on display in Bayreuth. The Minister of State gained an insight during a tour of the house. The deputy directors Dr Katharina Fink and Sigrid Horsch-Albert guided the guests through the current exhibition "We will now go to Kpaaza. Transitions and journeys through Uche Okeke's work". The Minister was very enthusiastic about the installation "To Be King" by the South African artist Christine Dixie. This came to the Iwalewahaus at the suggestion of the Cluster Centre at Rhodes University (South Africa) and was recently donated to the Iwalewahaus and the University of Bayreuth.

The impression the visit left on Claudia Roth is shown by her entry in the Golden Book of the University of Bayreuth: "It is an honour and a privilege for me to get my first glimpse of such an important, so unique, so worthy of support area of university research and teaching! Thanks from the bottom of my heart to you as bridge builders between Germany and Africa, but also between Africa and Germany.