Dr. Annette Schmidt is Curator Africa at the Wereldmuseum. She recently received an NWO grant for provenance research on the West Central-African collection, titled Roofkunst of handelswaar? | Theft or merchandise?. Her scholarly interest lies in the materiality and collections histories of Dutch Congo collections; the illicit trade in cultural heritage; and, the materiality of tourism.
Annette studied Pre- and Protohistory at Leiden University, during which she conducted archaeological research in Mali, West-Africa. Her PhD research (from Leiden University) focused on the urbanisation of the Niger Inner Delta. Her affinity with Malinese architectural heritage resulted in several projects in the area.
Annette’s most recent publications include research on the cultural dynamics of tourism and Malinese architectural heritage: “Héritage architectural: La gestion du Patrimoine Culturel (with Yamoussa Fané)” in Saho, joyaux de l’architecture Malienne (KIT Publishers / Rijksmuseum voor Volkenkunde, 2013), “African dynamics of cultural tourism (with W. van Beek)” in African Hosts & their Guests; Cultural Dynamics of Tourism (James Curry/Boydell & Brewer Ltd, 2012).