Roots of curatorial practices in colonialism

What we know of today as museums have their origins in European imperialism and colonialism. They exhibited the glory of conquest and excellence of colonizing forces. Curation, collection, and presentation formed national identity and knowledge production in the colonized nation. This study of Indonesian museums by authors Desi Dwi Prianti and I Wayan Suyadnya analyzes how colonial memory circulates through the museum. And it is not locked in the past.

Notes authors Prianti and Suyadnya: “From the coloniser’s perspective, decolonising museums requires acknowledging the dark past of their nation’s history. In a postcolonial nation, decolonising museums requires challenging the status quo by acknowledging that their entire museum practices are embedded with colonial legacy.”

While the authors distinguishes the memory institution as those focused on archiving history from those focused on aesthetics, we think that history is equally embedded in all museums and their curatorial practices.