About RCMC

About

Research Center for Material Culture

The Research Center for Material Culture (RCMC) is a flagship research institute within the Tropenmuseum (Amsterdam), Museum Volkenkunde (Leiden), the Afrika Museum (Berg en Dal) and the Wereldmuseum (Rotterdam) that serves as a focal point for research on ethnographic collections in the Netherlands.

Interdisciplinary research

We foster interdisciplinary research, focused on our internationally renowned collections, which comprise over 376.000 objects and almost 1.000.000 photographs cataloguing the diversity of world cultures. Our research projects and programs address the historical and contemporary meanings of these collections, the national and global histories of which they are a part, and the contemporary societal questions around issues of heritage, cultural identity and belonging that these objects raise.

Our Research

The RCMC is committed to research at the highest academic standard, while promoting the widest possible accessibility to the knowledge we generate. We strive to be a vibrant hub within national and international networks of research partners, fostering research collaborations with individuals and institutions. 

At the RCMC we:

  • foster innovation and critical approaches to understanding, interpreting and displaying our collections, and ethnographic collections more generally;
  • encourage the development of new strategies for their proper care and preservation;
  • contribute to the development of state-of-the-art approaches to engaging various local and international audiences through collections-based research and programming.

Working with us

As a hub in a network of research partners, the RCMC is involved in a number of research projects both nationally and internationally. With these global collaborating partners and projects we are involved in ongoing research projects, exploring the meaning of our collections for originating communities and for our different stakeholders in the Netherlands. Currently we are involved in the following international research projects. The RCMC also offers Research Associate positions for experts and Internships for students to foster interest in the study, preservation and dissemination of information on ethnographic and world cultures collections.

Staff

Wayne Modest - Research Center for Material Culture (RCMC)

Wayne Modest

Director of Content National Museum of World Cultures, Wereldmuseum
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Amal Alhaag - Research Center for Material Culture

Amal Alhaag

Senior Research and Cultural Programmer
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Alessandra

Alessandra Benedicty-Kokken

Research Associate
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Juliette Huijgen

Juliette Huijgen

Communications & Production, Research Assistant Wayne Modest
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carine

Carine Zaayman

Post-Doctoral RCMC Scholar
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Josep Almudever Chanza

Josep Almudéver Chanzà

Co-editor Un/Engendering research
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Ilaria

Ilaria Obata

Research Associate
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Portrait Esmee Schoutens

Esmee Schoutens

Research Associate
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Curatorial Department

Erdogan

Erdogan Aykaç

Junior Curator Turkey
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Cunera Buijs

Cunera Buijs

Curator Arctic
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Francine Brinkgreve

Francine Brinkgreve

Curator Insular Southeast Asia
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Daan van Dartel

Daan van Dartel

Curator Popular Culture and Fashion
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Paul van Dongen

Paul van Dongen

Librarian & Keeper Documentary Collections
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wendeline

Wendeline Flores

Curator Caribbean Culture and Colonial Histories
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sarah

Sarah Johnson

Curator Middle-East and North-Africa
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Daan Kok

Daan Kok

Curator Japan and Korea
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Erna Lilje

Erna Lilje

Curator Indigenous knowledge & material culture
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willemijn

Willemijn van Noord

Junior Curator China
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liesbeth

Liesbeth Ouwehand

Curator Photography
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Tom quist

Tom Quist

Provenance Researcher Indonesia
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Annette Schmidt

Annette Schmidt

Curator Africa
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Priya Swamy

Priya Swamy

Curator Globalisation and South Asia
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Wonu Veys

Wonu Veys

Curator Oceania
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Wouter Welling

Wouter Welling

Curator Contemporary Art
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Pim Westerkamp

Pim Westerkamp

Curator Southeast-Asia
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