Wim Manuhutu is a historian and heritage expert. Until May 2026, he was a lecturer in political history at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam.

From 1987 to 2008, he was the director of the Museum Maluku in Utrecht. There, he curated exhibitions on history, culture, and contemporary issues, and developed the museum into one of the few ethnic museums in the Netherlands to become a knowledge center specializing in cultural heritage and diversity.

From 2000 to 2004, Manuhutu chaired the Migration History Working Group within the Cultural Heritage of Minorities project. Supported by the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science (OCW) and the Mondriaan Foundation, the project aimed to strengthen connections between migrant communities and heritage institutions, while ensuring that migrants’ perspectives became more integrated into the heritage sector.

From 2004 to 2008, Manuhutu served as chair of the Cultures Section of the Dutch Museum Association.

At the Mondriaan Foundation, Wim Manuhutu was an advisor to the ad hoc committee on Programs for Contemporary Art Museums and Heritage Institutions. He was also a member of the editorial board of Framer Framed, an organization that examines the position of transcultural art within Dutch cultural institutions through debates and exhibitions. In 2004, he additionally served on the Appointments and Advisory Committee of the Council for Culture.

In 2009, Manuhutu began doctoral research at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam on how the Netherlands and countries with which it has maintained (semi-)colonial relationships shape the concept of shared cultural heritage. His research focuses on Indonesia, Suriname, and the Netherlands.