Laura Osorio Sunnucks_photo Ana Blumenkron @blumenkron
Press release:

Laura Osorio Sunnucks appointed Head of Research and Collections

Laura Osorio Sunnucks will join the Wereldmuseum as Head of Research and Collections on 13 October 2025. As a member of the management team, Osorio Sunnucks will strengthen the museum's research strategy and collections policy, with a particular focus on provenance research and the role of global art and material culture in amplifying diverse voices and narratives. Her experience in interdisciplinary work and community engagement matches the socially relevant themes Wereldmuseum addresses in its activities. 

Laura Osorio Sunnucks has worked extensively with Indigenous Peoples in her career and maintains an independent research practice. Among her various publications, she worked as co-editor of Mapping a New Museum, which reflects on the role of museums in contemporary political contexts in Latin America. In this book, she emphasises the importance of local knowledge, the political dimension of collection research, and critical reflection on colonial heritage. 

 

Osorio Sunnucks has previously held positions at the Linden-Museum Stuttgart, the British Museum in London and the Museum of Anthropology in Vancouver, among others. She has worked in the museum and heritage sector for more than 15 years. For most of that time, she was affiliated with the Faculty of Archeaology at Leiden University, where she supervised doctoral candidates, after completing her PhD in the Art and Heritage of Indigenous Peoples there.

 

Laura Osorio Sunnucks:

“Wereldmuseum is doing some of the most exciting and thoughtful work in our sector: critical, diverse and new. I am delighted to have the opportunity to be part of what's to come.”

 

Wayne Modest, Director of Content, Wereldmuseum:

The addition of Laura Osorio Sunnucks to the team gives our museum the opportunity to build even more bridges and exchange knowledge. Her keen eye for research and the social role of museums and museum collections matches our mission to contribute to global citizenship through art and culture.”