A Stolen World - A Memorable Dance Performance

Many Museums in the Western World house cultural objects and works of art from far-away places. Commonly the methods of acquisition were highly questionable, often amounting to outright theft. In later years, the countries of origin frequently request the return of these items. This is what happened in Gothenburg in 2009, when Peru approached the Swedish World Culture Museum demanding the return of the renowned Paracas textiles. Some years later, this issue is still far from settled. Even some Peruvian experts oppose the return, they fear that improper handling in near-tropical conditions could lead to a rapid detereoration of the as yet well preserved and spectacular objects.
At any rate, the World Cultural Museum took it upon itself to arrange a special exhibition with the theme "A Stolen World", giving much background information on the Paracas Collection and the questions surrounding acquisition and ownership. Part of this exhibition was a highly unique event, when students of a Gothenburg Secondary School were asked to participate. These were students who besides regular courses laid their emphasis on Modern Dance. Their task was to express through movement, lighting and visual effects all the problems and concerns surrounding the situation of the Paracas Collection. This was not a regular performance in front of a seated audience. The students where divided up into small groups who "did their thing" during regular visiting hours at various locations in the museum, even surprising the meandering visitors time and again with virtual hit-and-run performance raids.
"This is what dance could be, ought to be", "Really meningful", "Why not more events of this type" : Those were frequently heard public reactions afterwards...