Background information / expertise

Daan van Dartel (Eindhoven, 1971) studied cultural anthropology and museology. She started in 2001 as a registrar and became collection researcher for the restructuring of semi-permanent exhibitions in 2004. In this capacity she carried out research on collections and worked on the concept, form and content of two regional and two theme exhibitions. Since 2010, she is a senior collection researcher for projects and publications.

Her main responsibilities include documenting objects and collections, performing (historic) research on the museum and its collections, acting as exhibition project member for large projects, and preparing a number of collection books. She also examines larger museological issues such as the social role of the museum and the future of ethnological museums. She moderates the Royal Tropical Institute’s file on illegal trade and art theft, accessible through its website. She organised an international symposium on the restructuring of the semi-permanent exhibitions at Tropenmuseum and its future that took place on December 11 and 12, 2008. She is also involved in ICT projects of the museum.