Phil Omodamwen
Phil Omodamwen (b. 1971) is a sixth-generation Benin bronze caster from Nigeria. Born into the Omodamwen family, which belongs to the bronze-casting guild, his lineage joined the guild in 1504 AD. For over 500 years, the family has preserved this heritage while bringing in significant innovation. Omodamwen has been a strong advocate for the reparations and restitution of the Benin bronzes that were forcefully taken by the British in 1897.
Omodamwen is a Creative Fellow of the Making of the Museum project at the Pitt Rivers Museum in Oxford. His works have been featured in numerous exhibitions, including the ongoing Benin Dues exhibition at the Ethnographic Museum, University of Zurich; In Dialogue with Benin – Art, Colonialism and Restitution at the Rietberg Museum, Zurich (2024); the Ethnologisches Museum in Berlin (2022); and Benin: Looted History, the 2021 exhibition at the MARKK Museum in Hamburg.