The Internal Kick-Off Meeting for the Re:Sound project, titled “Restituting, Reconnecting, Reimagining Sound Heritage,” held on 14 April 2025, marked the official launch of a multiyear, multi-institutional research initiative focused on critically engaging with colonial-era sound archives. Conducted in a hybrid format—both in person at Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM) in Yogyakarta and online via Zoom—the meeting gathered scholars, archivists, curators, students, and community-based practitioners from Indonesia, the Netherlands, and across Southeast Asia. Running from 2025 to 2028, Re:Sound seeks to rethink how sonic heritage is collected, curated, interpreted, and made accessible in the postcolonial present.
Dr. Abdul Wahid, Head of the Department of History, delivered the opening remark, highlighting the department’s long-standing research excellence. Dr. Wahid expressed his hope that Re:Sound would reinvigorate UGM’s historical research traditions and deepen the university’s collaborative ties with international partners, particularly institutions in the Netherlands.
Project Genesis and Institutional Framework
Dr. Sri Margana, Principal Investigator and project leader from UGM, recounted the genesis of Re:Sound. The idea emerged during the DeCoSEAS project, where discussions led by Dr. meLê yamomo and Dr. Barbara Titus seeded the vision for a project that would push the boundaries of conventional archival practices and scholarship. These conversations culminated in a successful proposal to the Dutch NWO/NWA funding program “Research into Collections with a Colonial Context.”
Re:Sound is a collaborative venture among:
- Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM) – Lead institution and host of the PhD program
- University of Amsterdam (UvA) – Home of the Jaap Kunst Collection and key academic partner
- Netherlands Institute for Sound and Vision (NISV) – Archival and technical partner in Hilversum
Additional collaborators include Museum Sonobudoyo, Lokananta Records, Queer Indonesia Archive, Museum Ullen Sentalu, MyArchives (Malaysia), UP Center for Ethnomusicology (Philippines), and leading European sound archives in Berlin, Vienna, and Paris.
Click this file for details regarding the Re: Sound Internal Kick-Off Meeting.