In 2023 we launched our new programme "The Archived is Alive" - a project connecting museum curators and cultural practitioners to explore the boat lute instrument.

Travelling from Borneo, three of our team- a cultural practitioner, a curator and an artist visited the United Kingdom, to investigate and document cultural artifacts in museum collections. Looking to correct and improve the archives, we shared how these instruments continue to be practised and preserved in rural and urban communities throughout Borneo Island, as well as exploring how indigenous voices can be centred within databases and archives.

A collaborative effort between Borneo Boat Lute Revival and Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford University. The project had a special focus on the boat lute instrument- found throughout the island of Borneo, they are a family of plucked string instruments traditionally played by indigenous communities. While in modern times some boat lutes have been adapted and evolved to become contemporary instruments, others have become rare and endangered.

Supported by British Council’s Connections Through Culture grant we hosted two public talks while we in the U.K- one in Oxford and one in London. Upon returning to East Malaysia we shared our findings at Borneo Cultures Museum in Kuching
This remains an ongoing project and we hope to facilitate more conversation and connections between cultural practitioners, community members and international institutions and musuems