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The Reclaimers

How Western museums tell the stories of others.

As Western museums grapple with their colonial legacies and encounter ongoing pressure to repatriate artefacts, they face a fundamental question: how do they tell the uncomfortable stories behind the items in their collections?

After being invited to take part in events that coincide with the 2022 Commonwealth Games, Kema Sikazwe returns to Zambia for the first time since he was three years old, and asks: who has the right to tell these stories?

As the former ‘British Empire Games’ draws nearer, Kema finds out what the world of museums can learn from the communities, artists and curators who are struggling to reclaim global stories about their culture and identity.