This spring, the House of European History – a flagship museum of the European Parliament – has opened a temporary exhibition under the title Postcolonial? that features unique artworks, historical objects, and personal stories.
Knowing the multifaceted and controversial legacies of European colonialism and being aware of just how closely intertwined the European integration project and the history of decolonization have been, this new exhibition amounts to a significant and urgent intervention. The exhibition asks explicitly how Europeans preserved their power as their empires collapsed and aims to show how the “colonial matrix of power” continues to shape the world we live in. The exhibition ultimately ambitions no less than to help us rethink what it means to be European – and thus raises a host of essential and challenging questions.
Our podcast features two of the exhibition’s main curators – Kieran Burns and Ayoko Mensah – and two eminent experts in colonial history, postcolonial theory, and questions of European and postcolonial memory – Diana Natermann and Aline Sierp. Moderated by Ferenc Laczó, they jointly examine this crucial new exhibition in depth – and consider what it means to have such an exhibition at the heart of the EU today.
This first part of the podcast explores some of the most thought-provoking parts of the exhibition: it discusses how the curators selected the artworks, objects, and stories to be featured in the exhibition and reflects on the ways the exhibition builds on current scholarship – and why its makers decided to place a clear emphasis on how Europeans largely preserved their power even as their empires collapsed.
The second part will focus on the links between the main themes of the exhibition and the history of European integration.
The episodes are based on a panel that was held at Maastricht University’s Brussels Hub on May 11, 2025, and was generously supported by the Arts, Media and Culture research group of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences.
Kieran Burns is a museum professional who heads the Curatorial Department at the House of European History. He has co-curated the new exhibition “Postcolonial?”
Ayoko Mensah is a curator at the House of European History and one of the co-curators of “Postcolonial?” She is known as a cultural expert who has been working for decades on and with African and Afro-descendant art scenes.
Diana Natermann is a lecturer in the History of International Relations at Utrecht University who specializes in European–African relations and, more particularly, the histories of colonialism and slavery, including questions of visual culture.
Aline Sierp is an associate professor and head of the History Department at Maastricht University. She is a leading expert in memory studies and co-founder of the Memory Studies Association.
The conversation was conducted by Ferenc Laczó. Alina Young edited the audio file.
Cover image: Luzia (Inga) Ingles, 1968 © Augusta Conchiglia
