Nigeria’s artistic and cultural legacy was stolen by an invading British military force in 1897. Today, those looted objects (aka the Benin Bronzes) remain on display in the Smithsonian, and other museums.

We wanted to honor the people of Benin by remembering them and create a way to experience their art beyond the museum.

Using images from the Smithsonian’s collection as inspiration, we recreated some of the looted Benin Bronzes using 3D modeling software, and made them available as downloadable open-source models.

We wanted to liberate these objects by making it possible for people to print them at home, or even view them in their own spaces using augmented reality.