Over six years ago, at the start of 2003, the Tropenmuseum (Amsterdam) opened their permanent presentation Oostwaarts! Kunst, cultuur & kolonialisme (Eastward Bound!). Showing pieces from its core-collection, the Tropenmuseum recapitulated its own history and the colonial past of the Netherlands. With this new interpretation of the own collection, the Tropenmuseum illustrated the changing perception of our colonial experience and its thorough entanglement with Dutch culture.
That exhibition was a first step towards the demarcation of a post colonial discours in the arts sectors. Six years later, how has this discours developed? How do we deal with non-western art, collected or privateered within the colonial context? How do we deal with collections that carry a colonial relation? These collections are the working material of many curators, how do they avoid the reproduction of outdated views and connotations in contemporary exhibitions?
Following the exhibition Beyond the Dutch – Indonesia, the Netherlands and the Visual Arts, from 1900 until now, curated by Meta Knol (Director Municipal Museum De Lakenhal), a discussion will be held about the colonial perspective of Dutch art institutions. Point of debate is the influence of historical preconceptions on the view of contemporary art. An international panel will compare art institutions from several countries, and how they deal with their colonial past in representing contemporary art.
Meta Knol – Director Municipal Museum De Lakenhal;
Hammad Nasar – Curator, Gallerist, Author;
Salah Hassan – Professor, Curator, Author;
Susan Legêne – Professor in Political History.
Debate leader is Chris Keulemans.
Prior to the debate, Hammad Nasar will give a short presentation, show-casing several exhibitions he was involved in as a curator.
Salah Hassan will give a short presentation on the politics of representation in the arts after 9/11, and its inherent neo-colonial representations.
Susan Legêne will draw a comparison between the exhibitions Oostwaarts! and Beyond the Dutch.
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