Through the presentation of the object biography of Ganesha, a Singosari statue that was repatriated in 2023, Dr Boonstra demonstrates that the meanings of objects shift in accordance with the context in which they“live.” Ganesha transforms from a deity in an East Javanese temple into a museum object in the Netherlands. Museums need to stay up to date with society to create meaningful lives for repatriated objects.

Sadiah moderated two panels for the talk. First, Environment: The Role of Creative Practitioners in Addressing Environmental Issues in conversation with Moe Satt (MMR), Samnang Khvay (KHM), Uudam (VNM), and Melia Winata (IDN). The second panel, Sadiah moderated Copyright: Ethical Concerns and Copyright Issues in the Creative Industry, in conversation with Aoura Lovenson (IDN), Helianti Hilman (IDN), Kin-Wah Chow (SGP), and Jaekyu Lee (KOR).

In this talk Dr Boonstra reflect on the continuities and change in discourses of return in the context of Indonesia and the Netherlands. It provides historical context for current mechanisms and points to the fact that discourses of return in Indonesia show a continuation but that the relationship between Indonesian and institutions in the Netherlands has changed significantly.

Sadiah Boonstra's interview with CNN Indonesia on August 6 2023.

The interview is at 13.30 - 17.05 minutes. 

In this talk Dr Boonstra reflect on the continuities and change in discourses of return in the context of Indonesia and the Netherlands. It provides historical context for current mechanisms and points to the fact that discourses of return in Indonesia show a continuation but that the relationship between Indonesian and institutions in the Netherlands has changed significantly.

In this episode, For Arts Sake chats with Dr. Sadiah Boonstra, a Jakarta-based curator, researcher, and advocate for decolonial practices in the museum world. With experience working at cultural institutions around the world, Dr. Boonstra will discuss the importance of preserving cultural heritage, engaging with diverse communities, and challenging dominant narratives in the museum sector.

The 3rd Research Seminar of Reconnect/Recollect opened with a presentation from Nick Barnard, Victoria & Albert Museum about their Southeast Asian collection. Then Alexandra Green, Henry Ginsburg Curator of Southeast Asia from the British Museum gave a presentation with Sadiah Boonstra, consultant & head of collections management for the Indonesian Museum & Cultural Heritage, as well as Adrian Plau and Yoshika Kobayashi from the Wellcome Trust Collection about the medical history manuscript collection. This session was moderated by Melinda Susanto, a researcher in cultural history and science from Leiden University.