A museum reconnecting
what was separated.
MoSA is a museum dedicated to collaborating with communities that choose to undertake processes of restitution and reconnection of cultural artefacts and ancestors looted in colonial contexts, now displaced from their territories and held away from their places of origin in museums and collections shaped by colonial histories.
We question who has the authority to name, care for, represent and make decisions about them, and build tools, networks and alliances to advance restitution and bring what was separated back into relation.
Collection
Beginning with Rapa Nui, MoSA brings together and connects in one database cultural artefacts, ancestors, archives, memories and records that remain outside the island, dispersed across museums and collections around the world. Beyond each entity, the collection also brings together the stories, relationships and traces surrounding dispossession and absence, and makes space to name and understand them from the perspectives of their peoples of origin.
The foundational concepts we use to define this collection:
Resources
Open resources to challenge the bureaucracies that block restitution and strengthen networks of research, solidarity and collective action.
Restitution guide
A guide rooted in Rapa Nui for beginning, sustaining and supporting restitution processes from within local relationships and authority.
Restitution request letter template
An adaptable structure for opening a conversation and making clear what is requested, who decides and what follows.
Directory of organisations
Organisations, networks and tools working on restitution, memory, languages and data sovereignty.
Participant map
A network of possible relationships, positions and conditions that may shape each process.
Events
Public actions addressing stolen artefacts and ancestors, restitution and repair.
No upcoming events are announced yet.
About MoSA
Thousands of artefacts and ancestors were taken from their territories in contexts of colonial violence and remain displaced in museums and collections around the world. MoSA is a museum dedicated to collaborating with communities that choose to undertake processes for their restitution and reconnection.
Discover the project