Date: 17-19 June, 2026
Location: University of Amsterdam
Organisation: Amsterdam School for Heritage, Memory and Material Culture, University of Asterdam, Dutch Research Council (NWO)
Language: English
The Amsterdam School for Heritage, Memory and Material Culture, which is part of the University of Amterdam, is organizing its 12th annual conference titled Unsettling Heritage and Memory Futures: Decolonial Trajectories Between Crisis and Possibility. This three-day conference takes place at the University of Amsterdam between 17 and 19 June 2026, and intends to foster dialogue through individual papers, themed panels and roundtable discussions across diverse geographical contexts. The program includes panels about the return of objects collected from colonial contexts, diasporic memories and colonial museums.
The conference departs from the idea that decoloniality is not merely an academic lens but a profound reorientation of knowledge and power. While rooted in twentieth-century South American scholarship, decoloniality now inspires a generation of scholarship and social movements. After years of vibrant scholarship and activism, we stand at a pivotal juncture. This conference brings together scholars, practitioners, artists, and activists to reflect on what decolonial approaches have disrupted, dismantled, and dreamt anew—and to critically assess their strengths, limitations, and futures. As resurgent nationalisms and neocolonial forces challenge gains made in diversifying heritage institutions, democratising memory practices, and centring marginalised voices, how do we sustain decolonial futures that remain precarious? This international conference examines decoloniality as a transformative praxis that reshapes our engagement with heritage, memory, and material culture. You can find the full program below.
This conference is free of charge. You can register your attendance here.
New video tutorials help you navigate easily through the Colonial Collections DatahubThe Colonial Collections Datahub is a digital platform that brings together, enriches and provides insights into information on collections from colonial contexts. In doing so, it brings together information that is currently scattered across various institutions, which is important for doing provenance research. To help users navigate the platform, the Consortium will launch a series of video tutorials. With these, the user can learn more about the platform. The video tutorials can be found on the homepage of the Datahub.
What can you do with the Datahub?
Heritage from Suriname, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Aruba, Curaçao, Sint-Maarten and many other countries and areas can be found in the Colonial Collections Datahub. Aside from offering an accesible platform to search for objects, the Datahub provides a space to add your own perspectives to further enrich the data. In addition, you can become part of a community and provide objects with missing context and narratives.
The video tutorials
The series consists of six videos in which you learn everything about using the Colonial Collections Datahub.
Introducing the Datahub
In this video you will learn about the core functionalities of the Datahub. For example, that the Datahub consists of the elements objects, communities and research aids; but also how you can use the Datahub in a different language. Furthermore, you will learn how to make an account. With an account, you can use all the functionalities of the Datahub and organize objects into personal lists.
Searching objects and belongings
In collections in the Netherlands, you can find many objects that were collected from a colonial context. In the Datahub, you can search which objects there are and learn more about how they ended up in the Netherlands. In this second video tutorial, you learn about the different ways in which you can use the Datahub to search for objects. With the use of filters, you can make your query as broad or as specific as you want, you can change how to view search results and in which order. It also explains more about objectpages and which information you can find there; think about metadata, local contexts, images and ownership information.
Creating and joining communities
The Colonial Collections Datahub can not only be used to search for objects, but also to find peers to shate information and knowledge with. Users can, for example, find other researchers with the same cultural background or the same research subject through the Datahub’s communities. You can make a new community or become a member of an already existing community.
Adding narratives
A large part of the information about objects in Dutch museum collections that were collected in the colonial period is written and registered from a Eurocentric perspective. This includes the information visible in the Datahub. This is why it is especially important for collections from colonial contexts that perspectives of communities of origin are added to the objects’ metadata. In this video, you will learn how to add perspectives and missing narratives to the objects, using the Datahub.
Research aids
The NIOD Institute for War, Holocaust and Genocide studies, one of the partens of the Consortium, has created digital research aids for the Datahub. In this video you will learn more about how to use them. The digital research aids are one of the three elements of the Datahub and were created to assist in doing provenance research on these collections. Some of the research aids include more general information about doing this type of research, while others focus on collectors, institutions or locations.
Local Context Notices
In the last video tutorial, you will learn how to add local context annotations to objects in the Datahub. These context notices are an important addition to objects from colonial contexts, because they offer space for cultural sensitivities and values of communities of origin. With these notices, perspectives from communities of origin are added to the Eurocentric perspectives that were used to describe and register these objects in museum collections.
Date: Starting from 21 April 2026, several dates in April, June and July
Location: Online
Organisation: WiNoDa Knowledge Lab
Language: English
Modern research has developed advanced frameworks and procesudres to ensure high ethical standards that protect humans, nature, and cultural heritage. However, when it comes to scientific collections, researchers often assume that these materials are largely “unproblematic” and that ethical issues are minimal. Yet, as one examines collection practices and historical contexts, many complex ethical issues become apparent. These include colonial histories of acquisition, power imbalance, overlooked indigenous rights, the reproduction of discriminatory stereotypes, potential risks to endangered species, and the complex interplay between nature, human history and contemporary politics.
In this seminar series, WiNoDa Knowledge Lab explores the ethics of data derived from scientific collections, covering topics ranging from dinosaur fossils to looted artefacts, as well as threathened species and genetic resources. Speakers will highight the importance of understanding the historical and ethical context of collection data, discuss the challenges of working with such materials responsibly, and present practical approaches and tools for addressing these complexities. The series aims to foster dialogue and collaboration towards more just, transparent, and responsible practices in the management and use of collection data. Several sessions focus specifically on the role of indigenous communities, restitution and objects in scientific collections collected from colonial contexts.
All sessions will be held online and in English. Participation is free, but registration is required. Click the button below to learn more about the themes, dates and times of the different seminars.
Workshop Provenance Research Colonial CollectionsDate: 21 May and 10 June
Location: Wereldmuseum Leiden and a location in Amersfoort
Organisation: ErfgoedAcademie and the Cultural Heritage Agency
Language: Dutch
Colonial collections consist of heritage collected from former (Dutch) colonial contexts. These objects changed ownership in possibly problematic circumstances during the colonial periode. Museum professionals and others working in collection-managing institutions have an important task of conducting provenance research into these collections. This workshop, organised by the ErfgoedAcademie and the Cultural Heritage Agency, is meant to support them in conducting this important task.
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Werk jij bij een museum of archief (bijvoorbeeld als curator of registrator) en heb je in je werk te maken met koloniale collecties? Heb je behoefte aan meer context? Zoek je nog naar argumenten om het belang van herkomstonderzoek duidelijk te maken? Weet je simpelweg niet hoe en waar te beginnen? Wil je handvatten voor onderliggende dilemma’s? Dan is deze cursus iets voor jou!
In de cursus staat herkomstonderzoek naar koloniale collecties centraal. Tijdens de eerste dag leer je over de geschiedenis achter koloniale collecties, het huidige beleid en de verantwoordelijkheden van diverse spelers in het stelsel. Ook krijg je concrete tips over de omgang met koloniale collecties van een museum met veel ervaring op dit gebied.
Tijdens de tweede cursusdag gaan we actief aan de slag met de Datahub van het Consortium Koloniale Collecties. Daarnaast zoomen we in op jouw eigen praktijk aan de hand van een casus die je voorbereid hebt. Bovendien bespreken we met elkaar een aantal belangrijke dilemma’s waar je mogelijk mee te maken krijgt.
Looted Art Unraveled #3Date: 28 May 2026
Time: 16:00
Location: Resistance Museum Amsterdam
Organisation: Expertisecentrum Restitutie (ECR) of the NIOD and the Resistance Museum Amsterdam
Language: Dutch
The Expert Centre Restitution (ECR) of the NIOD Institute for War, Holocaust and Genocide Studies and the Resistance Museum Amsterdam present Roofkunst Ontrafeld, a series of lectures on lesser-known sides of looted art and restitution. Historians connected to the NIOD will present recent research and surprising insights and engage in dialogue with the audience, moderated by Yuki Kho. On 28 May, researcher Maarten van der Bent will present the lecture De Dubois-collectie: 28.000 fossielen en een Indische stem.
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In september 2025 besloot de Nederlandse overheid dat een verzamelding van maar liefst 28.000 fossielen uit de collectie van Naturalis teruggaat naar Indonesië. Deze Dubois-collectie, die onder leiding van de Nederlandse paleontoloog Eugène Dubois eind negentiende eeuw in Indonesië werden opgegraven, werd al decennialang door Indonesië teruggevraagd. Minder bekend is echter dat de roep om restitutie in de koloniale tijd klonk. Wat was het belang van deze ‘wetenschappelijk collectie’ voor Nederlanders, Indische Nederlanders en Indonesiërs?
Indigenous Futures: Towards Policy on Ancestral Remains in the NetherlandsDate: 12-13 May, 2026
Time: 10:00-17:00
Location: Wereldmuseum Leiden
Organisation: Wereldmuseum Leiden, Research Center for Material Culture, Colonial Collections Consortium.
Language: English
Together with members of the Colonial Collections Consortium, Wereldmuseum Leiden and Research Center for Material Culture are organizing an international workshop to contribute to policy frameworks on the repatriation/rematriation and handling of ancestral remains in the Netherlands. Because of the way in which ancestral remains entered museum collections, developing a national policy framework necessitates centering the perspectives of Indigenous and formerly colonized people. This workshop brings together theory and policy input, to understand current policy frameworks in other localities and contemporary (institutional) restitution practices to develop a more comprehensive national policy shaped by Indigenous people from across the world.
How might a policy look when we foreground the lived realities and voices of those past and presence whose lives were most affected by colonial and post-colonial practices of collecting, researching displaying human and ancestral remains in museums and other heritage institutions? Should ancestral remains “acquired” under colonial situations be researched or exhibited within museums today? And how might policies embed Indigenous struggles for self-determination and sovereignty in their framework? These are only some of the questions that this workshop focuses on. More information about the workshop is available below.
International Provenance Research DayDate: 8 April 2026
Location: Online and in-person. Various museums, universities and other heritage institutions in the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, France, Italy and the Unites States.
Language: English
On Wednesday 8 April it is International Provenance Research Day. On this day, an initiative of the Arbeitskreis Provenienzforschung, museums, universities and other heritage institutions organise events and publications to give attention to the importance of provenance research in responsible collection management. Part of this, is the importance of provenance research for a careful handling of collections from colonial contexts. These events have different formats, such as workshops, lectures, book presentations and guided museum tours. Below, you can find two examples of events that are also accesible online. Click the button below to take a look at all the events that focus on colonial collections.
University of Geneva
The University of Geneva is organising the online discussion Legal Provenance and TWAIL. This discussion explores provenance through the lens of TWAIL (Third World Approaches to International Law). As the question of a cultural object’s provenance may be complicated by histories of imperial acquisition and competing property law regimes, we hope that this perspective will provide the language and theoretical toolkit needed to address pertinent issues facing cultural institutions today, as well as foster an open dialogue on the postcolonial dimensions of cultural heritage law. More information is available hier.
University of Leipzig
The Institute of Anatomy at the University of Leipzig is hosting the online conversation Entangled Histories: A Conversation on Ancestral Remains from today’s South Africa at Leipzig University. The insititute is currently conducting provenance research into their collection of skulls, the initial findings of which will be shared during the event. Additionally, the discussion will focus on the intertwined histories of racist research practices, international acquisition networks and colonial wars. More information is available hier.
Date: 9 – 11 June, 2026
Location: State Museum Hannover
Organisation: Museumverband Niedersachsen und Bremen, in samenwerking met het Netzwerk Provenienzforschung in Niedersachsen.
Language: English
The Indonesian phrase pasang surut — “the tide in and out” — evokes the continuous movement of people, objects, and ideas across the seas that once linked Europe and the Indonesian archi-pelago. These currents shaped the emergence of colonial collec-tions but also suggest the possibility of renewed circulation: of knowledge, accountability, and dialogue.
The international conference Pasang Surut: Provenance Research as a Contribuition to Decolonisation and Trajectories of Restitution brings together academic and collection experts, as well as key figures from the fields of art, culture, and politics from Indonesia, Germany, and the Netherlands, to discuss the transformative potential of post-colonial provenance research as a contribution to processes of re-connection and decolonisation. Please register by 15 May 2026 at annekathrin.krieger@landesmuseum-hannover.de More information is available in de save the date below.
Ten museums delve into the provenance of colonial objectsOne year after the closing of the first round of the Regeling Herkomstonderzoek Colonial Collections, the research projects of the ten institutions that were awarded funding are in full swing. This funding scheme allows Dutch institutions managing collections to research the provenance of objects collected from colonial contexts, as a core task of careful and transparent collection management. The Colonial Collections Consortium, as provider of this subsidy, made available a total of €500.000, of which more than €240.000 was awarded to ten projects in the first round.
The awarded institutions show a broad cross section of the museum field, ranging from institutions managing state collection to municipalities, universities and private collections. They research the provenance of subcollections and specific objects that are suspected to have been collected from a colonial context. For example, Museon-Omniversum is researching a ‘banjabangi’, a rare wooden bench from Suriname that was historically used as a percussion instrument and is seen as a symbol of colonial power relations and resistance. Missiemuseum Steyl is focusing on an honorary carpet with Baxian-motives from Yanggu (China) which was taken in 1901 by missionaries under unclear circumstances. Kunstmuseum Den Haag received funding for research into, among other things, the eighteenth-century court silverware of the Sultan of Ternate, currently part of their collection of precious metals.
These are only some examples of the projects that will soon be finished. The results will be shared in provenance reports, publications, public events and exhibitions. Curious about the rest of the projects? You can find more information here.
The Colonial Collections Consortium – a partnership between Museum Bronbeek, NIOD, Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands, Rijksmuseum and Wereldmuseum – supports provenance research financially and substantively, by offering a network and exchanging knowledge. In doing so, the Consortium contributes to a careful handling of colonial collections and collaboration with communities of origin.
Provenance research blog #5 is out now!In this blog series, the Colonial Collections Consortium presents a historical object or collection from a colonial context or situation, currently (or until recently) stored in a museum in the Netherlands that has been the focus of provenance research. Our latest blog focuses on a relief plaque from the Benin Kingdom in Nigeria.
The relief plaque is part of the large and scattered collection of royal artefacts from Benin Kingdom (today Edo state in Nigeria) that were looted in the late nineteenth century. These historic objects – known collectively as the Benin Bronzes – are an expression of Benin culture, history and arts.
The relief plaque (or Ama in Edo) representing a mudfish was until recently part of the collection of Museum de Fundatie in Zwolle, in the Netherlands. Recently, archival research and technical analysis confirmed that the bronze plaque finds its provenance in Benin City. The provenance research into this object was financially supported by the Colonial Collections Consortium.
In this blog, you can read more about the provenance research, de role of the Benin Bronzes in the international restitution debate, the restitution of the bronze plaque and the exhibition Back to Benin – New Art, Ancient Legacy, which is currently on show at Museum de Fundatie.
