Research interests
Urban Anthropology: Postcolonial Urbanisation, Mobility and Migration
Museum Anthropology: Contested Cultural Heritage, Displacement, Provenance and Restitution
Regional specialization
West Africa: Benin Republic, Nigeria
South America: Brazil, Colombia
Europe: Switzerland, France
Short bio
Dr. Alice Hertzog is the director of the Ethnographic Museum at the University of Zurich. As a social anthropologist, her research has two main preoccupations. The first, in the field of urban anthropology, questions the social transformations occurring with post-migrant cityscapes. The second focus, situated in museum anthropology, investigates the circulation of contested cultural heritage held in ethnographic museums. Both aspects of her research are influenced by postcolonial perspectives, examining the ways in which flows of people and material culture negotiate colonial legacies and impact social change.
She joined the museum in 2023 as provenance researcher, having previously worked at the Museum Rietberg, where she undertook research for the Swiss Benin Initiative, investigating the collections of eight Swiss museums. She is an alumna of Cambridge University, Sciences Po, École Normale Supérieur d’Ulm, and the ETH Zurich.
Alice Hertzog is committed to collaborative methodologies and strengthening the interface between science and society. She has previously developed participatory research processes with cultural institutions, local governance and international development agencies.
Exhibitions
| 2024–2026 | Benin Dues. Dealing with Looted Royal Treasures, co-curation mit Alexis Malefakis |
| 2023 | Planetary Urbanisation, collaborative installation, Zentrum Architektur Zürich |
| 2021 | Worlds of Planetary Urbanisation, collaborative installation, 17th International Architecture Exhibition, Giardini, Venice |
| 2018 | Architectural Ethnography, research assistant, Japanese Pavilion, 16th International Architectural Biennale, Venice |
| 2014 | Etre Pêcheur, project advisor, Escale Photos Festival de Mor Braz, Ile de Houat |
| 2012 | Under Gods / Belleville Bazaar, co-curator with Liz Hingely, Galérie de la Petite Poule Noire, Paris |
| 2009–2010 | Présence Africaine, publication assistant Gradhiva, Musée du Quai Branly, Paris |
| 2007 | Un Parcours d’Innovation Local, curator, IMAJ’, Auch |
Current research projects
- Benin Dues – Dealing with Looted Royal Treasures
- Provenance Hacks – Digital Interfaces for Visualizing Collections
- OpenEthno: Unlocking Collections Data
Publications
ZORA Publication List
Download Options
Publications
-
Uhunmwu-Elao. Têtes commémoratives du Royaume du Bénin. In: Petrella, Sara; Steity, Mylène. ABC arts & musées : histoire coloniale et voix autochtones. Zurich / Genève: Seismo Verlag, 446-453.
-
Provenance. Ancien·ne·s propriétaires inconnu·e·s?. In: Petrella, Sara; Steity, Mylène. ABC arts & musées : histoire coloniale et voix autochtones. Zurich / Genève: Seismo Verlag, 354-361.
-
A horse, a rider and a head. Fragments of Edo Heritage at the Völkerkundemuseum der Universität Zürich. In: Tisa Francini, Esther; Hertzog, Alice; Malefakis, Alexis; Oberhofer, Michaela. Mobilizing : Benin heritage in Swiss museums. Zürich: Scheidegger & Spiess, 62-65.
-
“You are still holding on to our future”. In: Tisa Francini, Esther; Hertzog, Alice; Malefakis, Alexis; Oberhofer, Michaela. Mobilizing : Benin heritage in Swiss museums. Zürich: Scheidegger & Spiess, 40-43.
-
Collaborative provenance research. Investigating Benin object biographies. In: Tisa Francini, Esther; Hertzog, Alice; Malefakis, Alexis; Oberhofer, Michaela. Mobilizing : Benin heritage in Swiss museums. Zürich: Scheidegger & Spiess, 26-31.
-
«Ich lege die Hand auf das Elfenbein und spüre die rote Erde von Benin». Begegnungen mit der Diaspora im Museumsdepot. In: Tisa Francini, Esther; Hertzog, Alice; Malefakis, Alexis; Oberhofer, Michaela. In Bewegung : Kulturerbe aus Benin in Schweizer Museen. Zürich: Scheidegger & Spiess, 96-99.
-
Benin Initiative Schweiz: Neue Wege der Zusammenarbeit. In: Tisa Francini, Esther; Hertzog, Alice; Malefakis, Alexis; Oberhofer, Michaela. In Bewegung : Kulturerbe aus Benin in Schweizer Museen. Zürich: Scheidegger & Spiess, 8-15.
-
A note on The Swiss Benin Initiative. Identifying looted artefacts and addressing their return. Cahiers d'études africaines, (251-252):971-984.
-
Urbanisation through movement. The Lagos-Abidjan Corridor. In: Schmid, Christian; Topalovic, Milica. Extended urbanisation : tracing planetary struggles. Basel: Birkhäuser, 235-268.
-
Collaborative provenance research in Swiss public collections from the Kingdom of Benin. Zürich: Museum Rietberg.
-
Dinge als Migranten. In: Regehr, Ursula; Vuille, Rosine. Alles lebt : mehr als menschliche Welten. Basel: Hatje Cantz, 35-37.
-
Auf Spurensuche – Die Benin Initiative Schweiz. Zürich: Museum Rietberg.
-
The paperless archive. Recasting Benin collections as a displaced archive. Boasblogs Papers, (4):15-20.
-
Book Review: Dan Hicks. 2020. The brutish museums. The Benin Bronzes, colonial violence and cultural restitution. Culture & musées, (39):306-308.
-
No one is a prophet at home. In: Raymond, Christopher M; Manzo, Lynne C; Williams, Daniel R; Di Masso, Andrés; von Wirth, Timo. Changing senses of place : navigating global challenges. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 92-102.
-
Migrant Journeys (Web-documentary). : ETH Zürich.