1830 at Dutch Design Week 2025

As a visual artist, I have been exploring regenerative design processes and sustainable wearable collections through my artisanal label, Tulisan. I am pleased to update you on our 1830 exhibition at:

Piet Hein Eek Gallery, Strijp R — Eindhoven,
Dutch Design Week 2025, from 18–26 October 2025.

This exhibition presents modern wearable designs inspired by the intertwined histories of Indonesia and the Netherlands, examining how heritage, storytelling, and sustainability converge through artisanal craftsmanship. The collection is part of a research-based wearable art project grounded in UNESCO’s Memory of the World Register — The Babad Diponegoro, developed in ongoing collaboration with historian Peter Carey.

1830 is a collective project shaped by many disciplines—history, design, art, and sustainability—coming together to reimagine how we tell our shared heritage. It is a living book about a turning point in history: the year 1830, when Java lost the war and entered a dark chapter that reshaped our indigenous ways of life—changing how we saw ourselves, our access to education, our trade, and even our place in society. Through reconstructed fragments of colonial lithographs, we transform these memories into practical design objects—wearable artefacts that invite people to carry history with them, to live with it, and to keep the conversation alive. Each piece includes a QR code that opens a digital space—a new, decolonial framework for reflecting on the intertwined stories of Indonesia and the Netherlands. Our hope is to bring people together to speak openly about the past—without shame, guilt, or blame—and to rediscover the beauty of shared understanding.

Discover the Collection:
View Collection ›

Learn About Our Sustainable Process:
See Our Process ›

Venue Information:
Find the Location ›

Interested in Writing About Us?
Explore our media kit here:
Media Kit ›

1830 is a dialogue on sustainability, memory, and modern design.

Warm regards,
Melissa Sunjaya