The conference will delve into the theme of transdisciplinarity as a vital tool and framework for reimagining museums and their colonial collections from an inclusive and decolonial perspective. Globally, there is a growing movement fueled by public demand to decolonize museum institutions. However, practical strategies for decolonizing museums and addressing their colonial collections are often lacking in discussions.
On 12 & 13 November 2024, at the National Military Museum in Soesterberg, The Royal Defense Museums Foundation (SKD) is organizing the symposium: ‘Honour & Discomfort, war booty in museum collections’. At this symposium, the current state of provenance research and restitution in military museums will be discussed.
Colonial collections differ widely, including how they were obtained. Collaborative research into the history of objects can shed light on their origins. Employees of museums and archives have an important task in conducting provenance research on these collections. This course ‘Provenance Research on Colonial Collections’, developed by the ErfgoedAcademie together with the Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands, aims to support them in this task.
Is the tide turning for the repatriation of human remains in museums? The presence of human remains in museums originates from various sources: they may have been preserved immediately after death, excavated during archaeological digs, or collected in foreign countries, the latter often under contentious circumstances during colonial periods.
What ethical challenges arise from the digitisation of European visual archives documenting sensitive histories of colonialism, war and violence? This symposium gathers historians, memory and media scholars grappling with the ‘analogue’ complexities of reconstructing historical contexts and the contested use of visual sources in the present.
The concept of decolonising the museum, means different things in different parts of the world. During this conference on 17 June 2024, the ICOM Working Group on Decolonisation will share experiences from their daily practice, offering a broad variety of perspectives.
In collaboration with the Radboud University, the Catholic Documentation Centre (KDC) organizes the Jan-Roes lecture. This year, Prof Susan Legêne has been invited to speak.
During this seminar, practical experience is combined with theoretical background to discuss provenance research into heritage from a colonial context. In addition, the results of the MAS-project concerning provenance research into the museum’s Congolese collection will be presented during the seminar.
This interdisciplinary symposium focuses on the changing perspectives towards restitution of heritage from a colonial context and compares policies and approaches from different countries.
The colonial past has left traces in the collections of Dutch museums and other institutions. Because of the imbalance of power, many objects were removed from their countries of origin and brought to the Netherlands and became lost to communities. This webinar is specifically curated for an audience based in the Caribbean part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
On Saturday the 23rd of March 2024, Museum Huis Doorn will host a symposium focused on colonial art belonging to the last German emperor Wilhelm II. In cooperation with Utrecht University, the museum invastigated the provenance of its collections with possible links to colonial history. The symposium will be held in English.
The colonial past has left traces in the collections of Dutch museums and other institutions. Because of the imbalance of power, many objects were removed from their countries of origin and brought to the Netherlands and became lost to communities. This webinar elaborates on the various elements involved.
A core task of collection management institutions is provenance research. Part of this is the demand for collections from a colonial context acquired in a fair manner. Careful handling of colonial collections requires not only research, but also collaboration and knowledge exchange. We will help you get started in this webinar.
Earlier this year the Indonesian Ministry for Education, Culture, Research and Technology (MoECRT) set up the Indonesian Heritage Agency. IHA is placed under the Directorate for Culture led by the Director-General, and unites 17 museums and 34 heritage sites across Indonesia under one management.