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# Week in Review: Penn Museum to Repatriate Skulls of Enslaved People; MoMA “Strike” Launches
- URL: https://hyperallergic.com/week-in-review-penn-museum-repatriate-stolen-skulls-enslaved-people-moma-strike-launches/
- Published: 2021-04-15T20:03:18.000Z
- Updated: 2025-11-24T16:38:34.000Z
- Description: Also, a survey by the American Alliance of Museums revealed the toll of the pandemic on museum workers’ mental health, and more.
- Author: Jasmine Weber
- Tags: News, Week in Review, #wp, #wp-post, #image-position-hidden, #Import 2025-11-24 09:11 (2021, 2022, part 1)

*Week in Review is a weekly collection of news, developments, and stirrings in the art world.* [*Subscribe*](https://newsletters.hyperallergic.com/?ref=hyperallergic.com) *to receive these posts as a weekly newsletter*.

## Repatriation of Stolen Human Remains

At the urging of activists and students, the Penn Museum vowed to [repatriate the stolen skulls of enslaved people](https://hyperallergic.com/penn-museum-vows-to-repatriate-stolen-remains-enslaved-people/) in its Morton Collection.

Mississippi [returned the stolen remains of Chickasaw people](https://hyperallergic.com/mississippi-returns-stolen-remains-of-chickasaw-people-repatriation/) as part of the largest return of stolen Native American antiquities in the state’s history.

## Digital Databases

Enslaved.org, the first online slavery database which houses millions of records related to more than 600,000 enslaved people and their descendants, emancipation activists, and enslavers, received a [$1.4 million grant from the Mellon Foundation](https://hyperallergic.com/first-online-slavery-database-mellon-foundation-grant/).

The Louvre is [digitizing the depths of its collection](https://hyperallergic.com/the-louvre-digitizes-nearly-half-a-million-artworks/), uploading 482,000 artworks from different curatorial departments, with new uploads every day.

## Museums

A [survey by the American Alliance of Museums](https://hyperallergic.com/the-pandemics-impact-on-museum-workers-mental-health/) found that museum workers, especially BIPOC, have suffered “a grave toll on their mental health and wellbeing” due to the pandemic.

Activists convened near MoMA to stage the [first in-person protest](https://hyperallergic.com/activists-museum-of-modern-art-strike-moma/) of their “10 Weeks of Art, Action, and Conversation.”

A leaked email from MoMA director Glenn Lowry [reveals internal conversations about the "Strike MoMA" campaign](https://hyperallergic.com/leaked-email-from-moma-director-mischaracterizes-strike-moma/), accusing the activists of attempting to “‘\[disassemble\]’ MoMA and all museums so they no longer exist.”

## In Other News

A Google Doodle on April 13 celebrated the [Metropolitan Museum's 151st anniversary](https://hyperallergic.com/google-doodle-celebrates-the-metropolitan-museum-151st-anniversary/).

After facing backlash online and from the Cambodian Ministry of Culture, *VICE* removed [edited photos of Cambodian genocide victims](https://hyperallergic.com/vice-removed-altered-photos-of-cambodian-genocide-victims/) who were altered to appear smiling.

The first-ever exhibition of Israeli artists in the United Arab Emirates [faces calls for boycott](https://hyperallergic.com/exhibition-of-israeli-artists-in-the-uae-faces-calls-for-boycott/) by the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel.

## Transitions

**Eunice Bélidor** was named curator of contemporary art at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts.

**Jemma Desai** was named Head of Programming of the 17th Berwick Film & Media Arts Festival.

**Erika Dilday** was named executive director of American Documentary Inc.

**Denise Gardner** was elected chair of the Art Institute of Chicago's board of trustees.

**Jaynie Miller Studenmund** joined the Getty's board of trustees.

## Awards & Accolades

**Binta Ayofemi, Alex J. Bledsoe, Leticia Hernández, My-Linh Le, Nikiko Masumoto, Ayodele Nzinga, Hasain Rasheed, Darryl Ratcliff, Dorothy Santos,** and **Deanna Van Buren** were selected as Yerba Buena Center for the Arts fellows. | [Hyperallergic](https://hyperallergic.com/ybca-10-bay-area-artists-racial-equity-climate-justice/)

The winners of this year’s **Sony World Photography Awards** have been announced. | [Hyperallergic](https://hyperallergic.com/photographer-of-the-year-2021-sony-world-photography-awards/)

## In Memoriam

Edwin E. Aguilar (1974–2021), animator for *The* *Simpsons* and *Edge of Seventeen* | [Deadline](https://deadline.com/2021/04/edwin-e-aguilar-dead-the-simpsons-animator-was-46-1234733903/?ref=hyperallergic.com)

Martina Batan (1958–2021), New York art dealer | [*New York Times*](https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/09/nyregion/martina-batan-dead.html?ref=hyperallergic.com)

Giancarlo DiTrapano (1974–2021), independent publisher and founder of Tyrant Books | [*New York Times*](https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/15/books/giancarlo-ditrapano-dead.html?ref=hyperallergic.com)

Donald P. Ryder (1926–2021), architect and co-founder of Bond Ryder & Associates, which designed the Public Library’s Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture and the Studio Museum in Harlem | [The Grio](https://thegrio.com/2021/04/15/donald-p-ryder-dies/?ref=hyperallergic.com)

Benita Raphan (1962–2021), experimental filmmaker | [*Antelope*](https://www.avpress.com/news/newsline/benita-raphan-maker-of-lyrical-short-films-dies/article%5F688e34a8-9cc5-11eb-8b5d-c3588f453e04.html?ref=hyperallergic.com)[ *Valley Press*](https://www.avpress.com/news/newsline/benita-raphan-maker-of-lyrical-short-films-dies/article%5F688e34a8-9cc5-11eb-8b5d-c3588f453e04.html?ref=hyperallergic.com)

Earl Simmons, aka DMX (1962–2021), rapper and actor | [*Rolling Stone*](https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/dmx-rapper-dead-175779/?ref=hyperallergic.com)