Dora Jok

Biography

Building on her extensive field experience, Dora joined the Sarawak Museum in 2010 as Curator in the Administration and Finance section. She later led the Ethnology and Collections Management Section in 2016 and, in May 2023, was appointed Head of the Collections Management Division; overseeing the museum’s zoology, archaeology, ethnology, historical documents, audio-visual, and photographic collections. In this capacity, she has led initiatives in the care, preservation, acquisition, cataloguing and digitisation of collections; and has actively shared knowledge through conferences, talks and public outreach. Dora has also curated temporary exhibitions, including one in 2023 on the Regatta and Baram peace-making, and has been involved in other exhibitions, demonstrating her ability to translate historical and cultural knowledge into engaging public narratives.

In September 2025, Dora commenced a secondment to the Council for Native Customs and Traditions Sarawak, under the Sarawak Premier’s Office, as Head of the Orang Ulu Research Section. Her diverse professional journey – spanning community development, conservation, museology and research –  has informed her scholarly interests in adat and indigenous knowledge systems. She is currently exploring Kayan cosmology and social law through the study of Proto-Kayan cultural artefact embodying moral and cosmic order.

At the British Museum
During her time on the International Training Programme in 2016, Dora was based in the Department of Asia and her partner placement was spent at Glasgow Museums.

In 2016, participants were asked to develop a proposal for an Asahi Shimbun Display – a temporary exhibition in Room 3 at the British Museum – based around a single ‘spotlight’ object. Dora’s exhibition project proposal was entitled Sacred ink: connecting heaven and earth in Borneo.

Dora’s place on the International Training Programme was generously supported by Sarawak Museum.

Legacy Projects
In December 2017 Dora attended the ITP+ course on Photography and Documentation. In a series workshop, spread over a 5 day period, fellows attended seminars, creative workshops, hands-on sessions and practical working groups with colleagues from the British Museum. The aim of the course was to further the professional development and reconnect the alumni from the summer programme.