Living objects in vitrine

Bronbeek is a museum that houses thousands of stories and objects about the Dutch colonial history in Indonesia of the last century. During a residency in the museum, Lukas Schmidt was curious about which objects there are besides the artefacts housed in the museum, and who or what else carries stories besides the museum pieces from the depot. He was curious about which living objects and stories are physically present in the building today, which serves as a nursing home for veterans and as a meeting and working place for many dozens of people, and how they are also the museum. They tell the living story of the museum.

Lukas investigated what the life of the inhabitants of Bronbeek (the residents and the employees) is like and how they relate to the museum and its objects and stories. He interviewed them and the conversations resulted in the handing over of an object that symbolized the conversation and that person. The objects are exhibited in the temporary exhibition space in the museum in a display case, between the museum and the canteen of the employees and residents, as a bridge between history and life, and between art and life.