Decolonizing Museums: Online Exchange with Michel Lee of the Museum of World Culture, Sweden
In March 2025, BIRGEJUMPI WP3 members met virtually with Dr. Michel Lee from the Etnografiska museet in Stockholm to discuss community-based and decolonizing curatorial practices, focusing on the museum’s collaboration with the Seediq people of Taiwan.
Contributors
Project member: Wasiq Silan, Britt Kramvig,Naja Dyrendom Graugaard,Paarnaq Rosing Jakobsen and Wenche Marie Hætta
Summary
Dr. Lee reflected on his role in facilitating intercultural collaboration, which began under the EU-funded Taking Care project. A key highlight was the shift from curating the past to co-creating the present with Seediq community members. One example is the digital exhibition We Are Seediq, where urban Indigenous perspectives on modernity are shared.
English version:
https://www.etnografiskamuseet.se/en/exhibitions/tidigare-utstallningar/we-are-seediq/
English: https://openmuseum.tw/validUser?from=/muse/exhibition/a3f6f7c52600271766faaa0050b9e7cb
This dialogue inspired more dialogue and represents the spirit of BIRGEJUPMI’s mission—fostering ethically grounded, Indigenous-led, and globally connected research that challenges colonial legacies and uplifts community-based priorities.
Relevant news and publications
-
Indigenous Perspectives on Ocean Sustainability: A Listening Session in Hualien, Taiwan
Published: 19.08.2025NewsOn April 9, 2025, a workshop in Hualien, Taiwan brought together Indigenous knowledge holders, early-career ocean professionals, and scholars to explore Indigenous perspectives on ocean sustainability as part of the OceanKAN ECOP Listening Sessions.
Read more -
Walking Pedagogy as Method: Learning with Land, Sea, and Community
Published: 12.08.2025NewsAs part of BIRGEJUMPI’s work on Indigenous-led methodologies, NDHU hosted an online seminar with activist-scholar Yih-Ren Lin, focusing on Walking Pedagogy—a land-based approach rooted in Tayal knowledge and the concept of Gaga (Tayal law).
Read more -
Searvedoaibma: Art, Identity, and Sovereignty in Sápmi
Published: 30.07.2025ResearchOur team member Britt Kramvig, with partners, explores how Sámi artists use art, poetry, and performance as powerful tools for resistance, healing, and community-building in the face of ongoing colonial pressures. Art becomes a space for solidarity and reclaiming land, culture, and identity in…
Read more