This in-person event at the V&A South Kensington connects the research of the museum’s current Jameel Fellow Alia Ali, with the V&A’s own work to support and protect Yemeni cultural heritage.

In 2023, the V&A signed a historic agreement with the Republic of Yemen, to research and temporarily care for four ancient carved funerary stelae which had been seized by the Metropolitan Police’s Art and Antiques Unit, having been looted from Yemen and illicitly trafficked to London.These objects are now on display at V&A Storehouse, where the museum is taking responsibility for the care for the stelae on a temporary basis, until a time that they can be safely returned to Yemen.

Alia Ali’s research departs from the four Yemeni funerary stelae and discusses themes relating to global perceptions on Yemeni culture, and the connectivity of the country to its neighbours which skirt the Indian Ocean. Alia explores the V&A’s collections for objects that have been traded and trafficked and how they might translate into objects of the future.