In Our Own Words: Writing Our Own Moluccan History

• Date: 06 July - 26 September
• Location: Museum Sophiahof

In Our Own Words: Writing Our Own Moluccan History

On March 21, 2026, Museum Maluku in The Hague will open the temporary exhibition *In Our Own Words* (*In Eigen Woorden*). This exhibition invites the Moluccan community in the Netherlands to write, supplement, and pass on its own history. Running until September 26, 2026, the exhibition marks a significant milestone: 75 years of Moluccans in the Netherlands. A living archive: Museum Maluku manages an extensive photo collection documenting Moluccan life in the Netherlands since 1951. For years, many of these images—negatives, strips of film, and photo albums—remained in boxes. Preserved, yet incompletely documented. Our registration system might simply state: "Wedding in Camp Vught, 1962." But who is the couple? What stories lie behind the image? That knowledge isn't in a system; it resides within the community.

Co-creation as a method

*In Our Own Words* was created in close collaboration with volunteers and professionals from the Moluccan community. Together, they selected photographs based on themes such as resistance, joy, community spirit, and togetherness—themes that reveal how the community functioned and organized itself from within. Visitors are invited to contribute to the exhibition themselves by adding names, recording memories, and sharing stories—both regarding the photos in the gallery and via the Museum Maluku website. Some of the images on display come from the previously unpublished collection of Moluccan photographer Hendrik Tuwanakotta, who was active between 1951 and 1975.

“A community museum has a responsibility to tell its own story. Not as others describe it, but as the community itself knows it. *In Eigen Woorden* [In Our Own Words] is an invitation to everyone: to the Moluccan visitor who recognizes themselves in these images, and to the non-Moluccan visitor who gains an insider’s perspective for the first time. This part of Dutch history deserves a prominent place—beyond the walls of this museum, too. In education, in our collective memory, and in the future we are writing together.” Henry Timisela, Director of Museum Maluku

Practical information

Exhibition: *In Eigen Woorden*

21 March – 26 September 2026

Museum Sophiahof, The Hague

Artwork: Rutger Floor

Photo: H. Tuwanakotta

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