At 11 a.m. Saturday,15th June, members of the British Committee for the Reunification of the Parthenon Marbles, Janet Suzman, Chair of BCRM joined author Victoria Hislop and Stuart O’Hara, together with members of the Greek community led by George Gabriel, at the British Museum to welcome its new Director, Dr Nicholas Cullinan to make their case, and mark the 15th anniversary of the Acropolis Museum.

Their request for an urgent meeting with Dr Cullinan to discuss the fate of the Marbles, will be one of the first to hit the new Director's desk. To read the letter, follow the link here.

George Gabriel, BCRPM Committee Member said, “Elgin's excuse for not producing written authorisation for the removal of the Marbles never amounted to much more than “my mate kindly translated my homework into Italian before my dog ate it”.

The Turkish authorities have now put the final nail in the coffin of the argument that these treasures were taken lawfully. Listen to the web recording of the 24th session of UNESCO’s ICPRCP held in Paris.

We hope the British Museum's new leadership will embrace this moment and put right this historic wrong. Reunifying the Parthenon Marbles would restore the Museum's standing as a moral leader in the protection of our shared human heritage.” 

Author Victoria Hislop, also a member of BCRPM, said, “We are delighted to extend our warm welcome and congratulations to Dr Cullinan following his appointment as Director of the British Museum.

We come with an urgent request for a meeting following the Turkish announcement. 

We have never been closer to seeing this incredible work of art reunified and it is our solemn hope that Dr Cullinan can join Museum Chair George Osborne in the history books as the men who helped make it happen.”

Photo credits to: Thomas Primidis, Alexander Lees, David Pinto, ERT and Hellenic TV.

On Thursday 28 March the announcement of the the appointment of a new Director for the British Museum.This followed on from Wednesday's news that on Tuesday, London's High Court ordered former curator at the British Museum, Peter Higgs accused of stealing hundreds of artefacts to provide the museum with a list of all items he is suspected of taking and to return those still in his possession.

Over 1,800 items were stolen from the British Museum and so far 356 have been returned.

Interim Director Sir Mark Joneswas appointed last September in the wake of the crisis over thefts from the institution's collection. He set a target of five years for the BM’s complete collection, eight million objects, to be catalogued online, each with an image. With 60% of the BM's objects already digitalised, this target will be met.

To read the press release from the British Museum on the appointment of Dr Cullinan, follow the link here.

Dame Janet Suzman, Chair of BCRPM and Paul Cartledge, Vice-Chair of BCRPM and the IARPS welcomed the appointment of Mark Jones last year and following on from yesterday's announcement, a letter to welcome Dr Cullinan. Paul remembered Dr Cullinan giving him "a most gracious tour of an NPG exhibition." Janet is looking forward to the reimaging of the British Museum as it remains out of step with the cultural changes evolving in the rest of the museum world. "Of course the Parthenon Marbles case is unique, and we realise that Dr Cullinan will have a multitude of other issues to contend with and BCRPM wish him every success."

In the Times, George Osborne said Nicholas Cullinan had been chosen because of his “proven leadership today and great potential for tomorrow,” adding that the new director would help put the museum “back on the front foot.”

“He has shown his capacity as director of the National Portrait Gallery to oversee both a major physical renovation and a compelling renewal of purpose in a way that doesn’t take sides, but brings people together — and won universal acclaim. We believe he can achieve this, and more, on the bigger scale of the British Museum as we undertake a once-in-a-generation redevelopment.”

The Guardian describes Dr Cullinan as an energetic leader tasked with the British Museum overhaul. The profile article by David Batty highlights Cullinan's new role as needing "to draw on his fundraising skills to oversee its ambitious masterplan, a 10-year project, estimated to cost £1bn, to modernise its building in Bloomsbury, central London, and redisplay the entire collection." And mention of Dr Cullinan's friendship with Courtney Love, plus his favourite piece of music Jean-Philippe Rameau’s Tristes apprêts, from his 1737 opera Castor et Pollux, his love for Michael Jackson’s debut solo album, Off the Wall, and the American teen comedy Mean Girls.

In the New York Times, Alex Marshall writes that Cullinan is looking forward to taking the British Museum “into a new chapter.” Under his leadership, he expects the museum to undergo “significant transformations, both architectural and intellectual,” he added. “I can’t imagine a better challenge or opportunity to build on that than collectively reimagining the British Museum for the widest possible audience,” he said.

On the Museums Association article Cullinan said of the BM:“One of the greatest museums in the world, it is an honour to become the next director of the British Museum. I look forward to joining its wonderful and dedicated staff and to work with its hugely impressive board in leading it into a new chapter."

 “I want to pay tribute to my predecessors, most recently Sir Mark Jones, and look forward to building on their extraordinary achievements. Leading the remarkable transformation of the National Portrait Gallery over the last decade with its wonderful trustees, staff and supporters has been the honour of a lifetime and I can’t imagine a better challenge or opportunity to build on that than collectively reimagining the British Museum for the widest possible audience and future generations.”

Geraldine Kendall Adams in this artcle adds a section at the end aptly entitled: What’s on the agenda for the new director? There are four headings: theft scandal, masterplan, sponsorship and protest, repatriation.

Under Repatriation, Geraldine writes: Cullinan’s tenure at the British Museum could see significant developments in some of the UK’s longest-running repatriation disputes. Despite several setbacks, there is hope that the museum is close to reaching a “mutually beneficial” deal with the Greek authorities that would see the Parthenon sculptures return to Athens in exchange for rolling loans of other treasures from Ancient Greece.

The museum also recently announced plans to loan Asante royal regalia back to Ghana and is involved in projects to return other disputed artefacts on loan, including its Benin bronzeholdings to Nigeria. Other high-profile repatriation cases include Rapa Nui’s demand for the return of two moai statues, Ethiopia’s bid to repatriate the Maqdala collection, and the Aboriginal Australian campaign for the return of the Gweagal Shield.

There are calls for a change in legislation to allow the British Museum and other nationals to fully repatriate objects rather than simply loaning them. This debate is likely to intensify in the coming years.

The campaign for the reunification of the Parthenon Marbles continues, and with that in mind, a reminder of what Richard Morrison wrote in The Times, last summer (11 August 2023)

"So the new director [of the British Musem] needs to be someone with acute diplomatic skills, excellent connections with whoever governs Britain after 2024, brilliant fundraising capabilities and a bold, inspiring vision for museums in the 21st century. I can think of only one person in Britain who has all of that, plus youth and energy. That’s Nicholas Cullinan, the director of the National Portrait Gallery, who has just finished supervising an intelligent and beautiful restoration of the NPG — on time, within budget and with a deftness that won praise from people on all sides of the cultural and political divides."

Image of Dr Nicholas Cullinan by Zoë Law, 2018 © Zoë Law

Marbles campaigners call for urgent meeting with new BM Director as Turkish government confirms Marbles taken from Greece unlawfully

For two centuries Parliament and the British Museum have held that the Marbles were acquired lawfully, with written authorisation given by the Ottoman Sultan's Firman.

When the Parliamentary investigation asked to see the Firman, Elgin was only able to produce a document written in Italian that claimed to be a translation of the original.

Following confirmation from Turkish authorities that they can find no record of Elgin’s supposed authorisation for the removal of the Parthenon Marbles, campaigners are poised to descend on the Museum.

At 11 a.m. this Saturday,15^th June, (fifteen years since the opening of the Acropolis Museum in Athens), members of the British Committee for the Reunification of the Parthenon Marbles led by author Victoria Hislop, together with members of the Greek community led by George Gabriel, will gather at the British Museum to welcome its new Director, Dr Nicholas Cullinan and make their case.

Their request for an urgent meeting with Dr Cullinan to discuss the fate of the Marbles, will be one of the first to hit the new Director's desk. 

George Gabriel, BCRPM Committee Member said, “Elgin's excuse for not producing written authorisation for the removal of the Marbles never amounted to much more than “my mate kindly translated my homework into Italian before my dog ate it”.

The Turkish authorities have now put the final nail in the coffin of the argument that these treasures were taken lawfully.

We hope the British Museum's new leadership will embrace this moment and put right this historic wrong. Reunifying the Parthenon Marbles would restore the Museum's standing as a moral leader in the protection of our shared human heritage.”

Author Victoria Hislop, also a member of BCRPM, said, “We are delighted to extend our warm welcome and congratulations to Dr Cullinan following his appointment as Director of the British Museum.

We come with an urgent request for a meeting following the Turkish announcement.

We have never been closer to seeing this incredible work of art reunified and it is our solemn hope that Dr Cullinan can join Museum Chair George Osborne in the history books as the men who helped make it happen.”

-ends-  

For more information contact George Gabriel on 07969 151841 or Marlen Godwin on 01780 460145 or 07789533791, and email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Notes to editors:

1. BCRPM has been campaigning for the reunification of the Parthenon Marbles for 39 years and after the Acropolis Museum was opened on 20 June 2009. A crowdfunding campaign to return the £35,000 paid to Lord Elgin in 1816  was completed on 01 August 2023.
2. In June 2009 Chair of the BCRPM, Professor Snodgrass, Vice-Chair Christopher Price and Secretary Eleni Cubitt attended the official inauguration of the New Acropolis Museum with members Christopher Stockdale and Marlen Godwin.
3. Protest at the BM have spanned 15 years and there have been many memorable moments, the last was 18 June 2023 and the reciting of Lord Byron’s poem, the Curse of Minerva, plus prior to that 18 June 2022, Victoria Hislop flanked by English and Greek supporters sang happy birthday to the Acropolis Museum in English and in Greek. As was the year before that, 20 June 2021, when the current Chair Janet Suzman joined a small group of protestors outside the BM to hand out a leaflet entitled ‘Tell The Story’, refuting the reasons that the BM continue to make for keeping the Parthenon Marbles divided.
4. On 20 June 2020, silent protestors gathered outside the BM with banners. The museum was officially closed.
5. On 22nd of February in the British Museum, Room 18, The Parthenon Galleries, at 16:07,  after the voices of the women of Troy had concluded their stories, readings from a novel 'A thousand Ships' by Natalie Haynes, part of Project Season Women, directed by Magdalena Zira and Athina Kasiou, Professor Edith Hall unfurled a flag with a heartfelt request: Reunite the Parthenon Marbles.
6. On 20 June 20 June 2019, Hellena sang her song 10 times in Room 18, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-EkNkxl3-A
7. Several protests were made in conjunction with BP or not BP?, starting from 2018 to 2020. The first in 2018, BP or not BP?’s Danny Chivers spoke in Room 18for the first time about the plight of the Marbles. This was followed by Cypriot student Petros Papadopoulos of REUNITE, and Marlen Godwin of BCRPM in 2020 also celebrating ‘the year’ of Melina Mercouri.
8. On 15 January 2015, jazz singer Sarah Fenwick and guitarist Marinos Neofytou perform their song 'Never Again' from the duet's latest CD 'Jazz Origins', this is dedicated to the campaign for the reunification the Parthenon Marbles. The song can be heard on YouTube
9. On 22 November 2009, American student, Mary Phillips, made her one-woman silent protest and Neil MacGregor, director of the British Museum, stopped by briefly to have a look at Mary and declared it 'an elegant gesture'. At the end of the day, English student and Plinthian, Sofka Smales joined Mary for a photograph.
10. Student Sofka Smales stood on the 4^th Plinth in Trafalgar Square on 12 September 2009 and two days later delivered a roll of wallpaper with BCRPM founder Eleni Cubitt, to the then Director of the British Museum, Neil MacGregor. The wall paper carrying her written wish to see the Parthenon Marbles reunited in the newly opened Acropolis Museum.
11. Forty five students from Argostoli, Kefalonia flew into London to dance, sing and recite poetry in the courtyard of the British Museum on the afternoon of 03 May 2009.

On the 15th of June this year BCRPM held a celebration of the Acropolis Museum's 15th anniversary in Room 18 and Chair Janet Suzman, with members Victoria Hislop and George Gabriel delivered a letter to the new director Nicholas Cullinan.

The reply from Nicholas Cullinan arrived just a few days later and did give all at BCRPM a boost of optimism.

Last Friday the Financial Times article by contributing editor Jan Dalley had an encouraging headline - British Museum chief Nicholas Cullinan:‘I start with the idea that everything is possible’. [Music to all of BCRPM's ears]

“If anyone tells me something isn’t possible, I’ll go all the more into making it happen.” Nicholas Cullinan tells Jan Dalley. The huge challenge ahead is that Nicholas Cullinan is overseeing the most ambitious museum reconstruction ever attempted — “a complete holistic transformation, top to bottom, inside out, buildings, collection, visual identity, ” rumoured to cost £1bn.

The startling statistics about Britain’s biggest cultural institution are no exaggeration, though: with around 3,500 rooms and some 8mn objects in its collection, it is, according to former trustee Antony Gormley, “[one of] the last unmodernised great museums in Europe”. Add to that its recent reputational bashing: last year’s scandal over thefts from the collection, perpetual arguments about sources of philanthropy and funding, and the seemingly insoluble conundrum about repatriation, in particular of the Parthenon Marbles.

The the case for the reunification of the Parthenon Marbles is the British Museum's most public and controversial debate is something that all those involved with BCRPM have felt for decades but again the mantra has been 'anything is possible'. Despite certain setbacks, the accomplished efforts by Greece at UNESCO's ICPRCP  over the decades has ensured that hope would not wane.

It was good to hear Lisa Nandy, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport at the the recent Labour Party conference state that repatriation is on this government's agenda. At last!

Nicholas Cullinan is typically diplomatic, and typically optimistic, writes Jan Dalley, but for us as campaigners that's better than dismissive and superior.. We're still recovering from Hartwig Fisher referring to the division of the sculptures a a 'creative act'!

“I think everyone would like to see a really exciting, innovative solution. No, solution is the wrong word — response. Something outside the usual framework . . . I’m starting with the idea that everything is possible, and we’ll deal with reality as it evolves. Let’s not start with the idea that certain things can’t be done.” Continues Nicholas Cullinan in his conversation with Jan Dalley. “Plans are taking shape." 

No doubt the discussions between Greece and the British Museum are ongoing but we continue to also hope that the UK government will take the lead in this matter by amending the Museum Act. Many have tried before and more will continue to do so.

As UK's PM Sir Kier Starmer continues to travel abroad, looking to establish the UK as a nation of possibilities, nurturing collaborations aimed at securing the UK a brighter future, then let the reunification of the Parthenon Marbles be that fine feather in his cap too. 

The new director of the British Museum, Dr Nicholas Cullinan in an interview with Richard Morrison for the Culture section of the Sunday Times, 15 September 2024.

“I’m going to lead the biggest transformation of any museum in the world,” Nicholas Cullinan declares. “Physically, our masterplan is a huge project. But intellectually, too, it’s an enormous challenge. Yes, fixing the roof is urgent. But if you’re going to address those physical problems you should also do something really exciting with the collections and the way we present them to the public.”

Music to our ears, as we have looked to the BM to embrace the 21st century and the continued call for the reunification of the Parthenon Marbles.

Read the full article by Richard Morrison.

Post the 2,000 thefts, then the controversial 50 million pound donation from BP earmarked for the BM's masterplan with the transformation of the building and the campaign for reunification of the Parthenon Marbles, now in it's 41st year, is Nicholas Cullinan leading the way to a brave new era at the BM? 

The decision to digitise the whole BM collection, all eight million items means, in the future, if an item is stolen and offered for sale, it will be easy to check it against the BM’s database. “But it also gives us an opportunity to create an incredible website that could reach well beyond the museum’s walls,” adds Nicholas Cullinan.

Last month five architectural teams were shortlisted to work on rethinking the galleries that include the rooms housing the Parthenon Sculptures, Rosetta Stone and mummies. 

“It’s really a giant restoration project. The western range is largely the original Robert Smirke building from the 19th century, with its beautiful galleries. But they can be made even more beautiful. And at the same time we have to rethink how we navigate visitors round and best display and interpret the collection.” Continues Cullinan in the Sunday Times as he also points out that the 1963 British Museum Act stops the museum from deaccessioning anything in its collection, even if it wanted to. “The more interesting aspect to think about now is how we can work in partnership with other museums round the world to lend or exchange items,” he says.

The Sunday Times asks whether “a friendly lending agreement [would] end the seemingly eternal squabble over the Elgin [Parthenon] Marbles?” Cullinan responds: “This is not me trying to dodge the question but that issue is not within my purview. It depends on other parties…The more interesting aspect to think about now is how we can work in partnership with other museums round the world to lend or exchange items.”



 

A BCRPM letter was delivered to Nicholas Cullinan, the British Museum's new Director on 15 June by BCRPM campaigners and friends. The choice of the 15th was significant as this June, the Acropolis Museum celebrated its 15th anniversary.

Alexandros and David were inspired to cover the remonstration at the British Museum as this cause is very close to both their hearts, and  they were with us also in 2022. We look forward to their continued involvement with the movement going forward.

Below a link to the video that Alexandros and David artfully put together. It features interviews with Dame Janet Suzman and Victoria Hislop and a narrative of the events by Alexandros.  

"This campaign is contingent on public awareness, which in turn is raised through high-profile endorsements and large amounts of content being created on the topic. With this in mind, David and I are very excited to also submit a review on the current debate surrounding the campaign to reunify the Parthenon Marbles." wrote Alexandros post the 15th of June.

Watch: Talking Parthenon Marbles with Dame Janet Suzman and Victoria Hislop.

Alexandros Lees: Alexandros is a British-Greek lawyer who first studied the Parthenon Marbles during his Law degree at the London School of Economics. Alexandros’ Greek heritage, legal training, and interest in cultural property give him a unique passion for repatriation.

David Pinto: David Pinto is a Franco-American journalist, documentarian, and presidential campaign aide. A recent alum of Brown University, he earned a double bachelors degree in History and Film Studies. As a specialist in both international affairs and ancient history, David uses filmmaking to cover cultural property disputes.

Next steps: Alexandros and David are currently writing a thinkpiece on the prospects of repatriation, focussing on the effects of a Labour Government, increasing international support for repatriation, and growing public awareness of the cause. The article will feature interviews with prominent figures involved in the debate.