The aim of the present work is to present how have Dutch curators dealt with the representation of Suriname’s multiplicity in the ethnological museums of the Netherlands.Through museums’ modes of...Show moreThe aim of the present work is to present how have Dutch curators dealt with the representation of Suriname’s multiplicity in the ethnological museums of the Netherlands.Through museums’ modes of representation, particular constructions are created of image making and concepts developing. Ethnological museums are imagined as spaces that represent the life of groups of people inhabiting specific areas. The history of Suriname and the cultures of its people are a fixture in Dutch museums of ethnology, due to the historical colonial link between the two countries of Suriname and the Netherlands. How do Dutch museums of ethnology represent the ‘otherness‘ of Suriname and Surinamese people? In order to answer this question, two major museums of ethnology in the Netherlands, the Volkenkunde and Tropen museums, are investigated as case studies of how Suriname’s history, culture and various ethnic groups are today represented in the museological institutions of Suriname’s former colonizer. In the analysis of these exhibitions I will concentrate on matters regarding the authority of the museum, the presentation of decolonization, the vocalization of the narratives, the concept of exclusion, and the involvement of source communities in curatorial processes. Through this analysis, this paper seeks to determine what types of narratives dominate the representation of Suriname in Dutch museums and the vision of Suriname and Surinamers offered to the public in these exhibitions. In addition, the case studies presented will investigate which histories are unspeakable and which are not, how museums suggest their authority on the subjects they present, and the extent to which the intellectual framework to which a museum is bonded influences its displays, and which is the period we are going through nowadays and how have the museums been adjusted accordingly. In discussing these aspects of museological representation, this research hopes to add to the discussion of how museums can best produce ethical representations.Show less
