Exhibition: Imagine

Imagine – the future of human remains from colonial contexts in Museum Vrolik
March 13 2026 – June 27 2027

The preservation and exhibition of human remains in museums is a painful open wound for many descendant communities, especially those from former colonies. Any museum that stewards such human remains, like Museum Vrolik, must respond to its racist and colonial inheritance, including by researching the provenance of the remains and sharing the findings. The result can be seen in the exhibition: ‘Imagine – the future of human remains of colonial contexts in Museum Vrolik.’

Imagine a future in which all racialized human remains find a final resting place. What remains? Display cases with empty stands and labels – direct evidence of the racial collecting mania of Museum Vrolik’s anatomists in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. These objects are essential, as they will show future generations how medical doctors contributed to racist and colonial science. Through captions linked to stands, we move beyond the objectification and racial categorization of remains, showing their humanity and, at the very least, to tell their histories.

The five-year project ‘Pressing Matter, ownership, value and the question of colonial heritage in museums’ included provenance research on these human remains. Investigation of archives and publications, museum labels and catalogues, and even inscriptions on the remains themselves revealed a great deal of information. Communities of origin, including diaspora communities, were involved in the research. They provided many answers, and new insights, such as about the important, enduring spiritual connection between ancestors and present-day communities. Menucha Latumaerissa of the Dutch Foundation Budaya Kita: “I found a book by Kleiweg-de Zwaan in a thrift store. It turned out to contain images of the skulls of our Moluccan ancestors. Through various channels, we were able to trace the remains to Museum Vrolik. Last year, through the Budaya Kita Foundation, we were able to bring the remains of our ancestors home.”

An important goal of this project was to begin healing the wounds of colonial injustice and scientific racism. We do so by addressing these histories openly, and, above all, by working with communities of origin to find the best resting place for the remains of their ancestors. For some, that means restitution. Nonetheless, provenance research on the remains continues. Healing colonial injustice requires care and patience – and may never be fully completed.

The exhibition Imagine – the future of human remains of colonial origin at Museum Vrolik will be on
display from Friday, March 13, 2026, at:

Museum Vrolik, Amsterdam UMC location AMC, Meibergdreef 15, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

Note to editors:
For more information please contact: l.derooy@amsterdamumc.nl

Want to read more about the results? Have a look at Exhibition: Imagine.