THE grand exhibition Revolusi! Indonesië Onafhankelijk (Revolution! Indonesia Independent) opened in February at Amsterdam’s Rijksmuseum, involving guest curators Amir Sidharta and Bonnie Triyana. A month prior to opening, it already attracted ample attention due to an opinion piece by Bonnie Triyana.

A month prior to its opening, a major exhibition on Indonesia at Amsterdam’s Rijksmuseum has already been at the center of fierce public debate. Guest curator Bonnie Triyana and the Rijksmuseum are reported to the Dutch police. The Netherland’s main museum is seen as succumbing to right-wing criticism.

Indonesian anti-colonial hero Untung Surapati is prominently present at the Rijksmuseum, the Netherlands’ national museum, in its first major exhibition highlighting the country’s dark slavery history.