New Futures for Indonesian Objects will convene a summer seminar from 8 to 16 July 2026 at Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta, and in Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara. The programme will bring together consortium partners, external speakers, and local communities to discuss cultural objects with colonial contexts. While using the Lombok War booty as a case study, the program will also address broader questions about other cultural objects and their afterlives.
The seminar will discuss several key points including how colonial classifications continue to shape objects management, rethink provenance research as a site of restitution, and consider how returned objects contribute to memory-making, healing, and repair, especially for the local communities that separated from their ancestral objects. Featuring perspectives from Indonesia, Nigeria, Sri Lanka, and source communities, the seminar also will offer South-South approach to challenge colonial structures embedded in cultural objects.
Public Session – 9 July 2026
To enrich the discussion, the seminar opens limited seats to the public on 9 July. The session will offer presentations from consortium members and invited speakers, covering a range of topics from memory production to efforts of return of the Lombok War booty and other cultural objects from Indonesia, Nigeria, and Sri Lanka.
Registration for the 9 July session is now open. Those interested are invited to submit their application via bit.ly/reclaimingnarratives2026 before 19 June 2026. Interested participants are encouraged to apply early to secure a place in this important discussion on cultural objects. For any questions regarding the seminar, kindly reach out to the New Futures for Indonesian Objects team via pastfutureheritage.fib.ugm@gmail.com or +62 838-9145-8220 (Ayu Wulandari).
