Arts and Design

My solution to the Parthenon marbles row: a museum for the 21st century


As the era of Brexit arrives, Britain’s future is filled with uncertainties. Its leaders and people will need to shape a new national narrative following the country’s exit from the European Union. One way to do so would be to resolve its longstanding dispute with Greece over the Parthenon marbles. I propose it should join with Greece to create a 21st-century museum to which the marbles would be contributed.

The museum wouldn’t be a building, but a series of travelling exhibits of artworks and inventions from around the world, organised by time period. It would underscore the reality that the world’s challenges can’t be tackled by any one country. And it would make the case that only by sharing ideas and adopting inclusive approaches will we succeed in addressing our borderless challenges. In essence, the museum would tell the story of our shared humanity.

The museum would be founded on the idea that the great art of the world does not belong to anyone; that it was created by our ancestors, often long before the idea of a nation-state existed, to reflect their worlds and depict their ideas; and that it should be shared as broadly as possible. For this reason, the museum would make irrelevant or secondary the concepts of historical sovereignty and ownership. By doing so, it would create an opportunity for countries contesting the ownership of historical art and artefacts to resolve their disputes. It also would help address the “slippery slope” argument, which posits that returning artworks to their counties of origin would lead to an emptying out of the great museums around the world.

There never has been a stronger need for us to tell the story of what people have learned and borrowed from each other. Borderless challenges such as the risk of pandemic; climate change; human migration; and shortages of natural resources, food and water; are existential. They require sharing information and taking collective action.

Yet, increasingly, many countries are ignoring this reality. Their leaders are failing to articulate how the community of nations must move forward together. Instead, the rise of nationalism and populism is causing leaders to close borders, restrain free trade and promote extreme expressions of sovereignty.

Civilisations across the world have made important contributions to the shared story of humanity, the Greek city states among them. Greek artists depicted many of their foundational contributions to democracy, philosophy, literature and science. One example is the story told in the marbles, which portray the mythological, religious and historic accomplishments of people who dared to act collectively in times of crisis.

The themes and stories depicted in the marbles also are a reminder that many countries have benefited from the contributions made by the Greeks – England more than most.

Greece and Britain have the opportunity to renew their respective stories by leading the way in creating a museum for the 21st century. How it would be organised would be open to discussions. But at a minimum, it would be a consortium of museums from around the world prepared to contribute works from their own collections to tell the story of human history. The exhibits would depict the way that past thought, religion, politics, art and history has formed a platform for each stage of human development. They would be organised chronologically, beginning with the most ancient civilisations, to reveal the how the contributions made by civilisations were borrowed by others.

The Acropolis and British Museum could begin by assembling a core consortium of member museums from around the world. This consortium could design the museum; contribute art works from specific time periods or eras; and manage its operations. The exhibits would reflect the shared challenges faced by our ancestors; how they described and managed those challenges; and how the solutions were spread and shared. Demonstrating the benefits would help set the stage for a current dialogue concerning our own shared challenges.

The museum would be built on a sound and sustainable economic foundation, and benefit the consortium’s member museums by bringing in exhibits and new audiences. Ticket sales and subscription revenues would likely be substantial. In addition, educational materials, films, television programming, videos and social media outlets could be created to carry the story to a worldwide audience, creating additional revenue opportunities. Creation of these materials would further the collaboration among the member museums and lead to new and unexpected ways of expanding their audiences and fulfilling their joint and individual objectives. Tourism to the countries in which the members are located would also be enhanced.

The story that the 21st-century museum could tell is the shared story of the world. It’s a story that needs to be told, now more than ever. By creating the museum, Greece and Britain would lead the way in telling it.



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