Dag van de antropologie 2025, Anthropology, collec

The past decades have witnessed growing concerns around collections in Western museums and archives. Amid broader post- and decolonial critiques of heritage institutions, objects and practices, museums were confronted with demands to look critically at, or investigate possibilities for the restitution of (parts of) their collections. While the focus has tended to be on ethnographic collections, other collections that include objects, human/ancestral remains, photographs, audiovisual material, botanical specimens, field notes, indigenous knowledge, etc. raise similar concerns. Anthropology and anthropologists are deeply involved in these developments. Anthropological collecting as a colonial and extractive method has played a significant role in the establishment of ethnographic and other collections. At the same time, anthropologists are also actively involved in finding ways to address this past and push for decolonial work, developing novel ways of doing ethnography as well as looking for alternative methods, epistemologies and forms of collaboration.
This year’s Anthropology Day provides an opportunity to reflect on past contributions and look ahead. What have anthropologists contributed to debates on restitution and the evolving practices of museums, archives, and the arts? How do anthropologists collaborate with scholars and professionals from other fields—such as art history, museum studies, archaeology, history, and law—as well as with activists, artists, and stakeholders, also from the Global South? What future directions do anthropologists envision? Can ethnographic fieldwork help reshape the history and practice of ethnography as a form of collecting? How can anthropologists contribute to research on (colonial) ethnographic collections, and how might these contributions reshape the way we do anthropology?