Video: Suspended Histories

Framer Framed and Museum Van Loon cordially organized the symposium Suspended Historie’s to discus the colonial past of the Van Loon family, and ways in which that past is presented and represented in Museum Van Loon. This symposium presents a historical and theoretical framework for the extensive and ongoing project, Suspended Histories, which will be presented in Museum Van Loon from September 2012 to January 2014.

Museum Van Loon
Staff of the museum (which was the former residence of the noble regent family Van Loon) are often confronted with questions from visitors about the history of the family. The origins of the wealth of the Van Loon family are from international trade. The family was closely involved in the founding of the Dutch East India Company, and was instrumental in the growing market for maritime insurance. The extraordinary Dutch spirit of trade and entrepreneurship, was, as former prime minister Balkenende described, as a ‘VOC-mentality’. This was in truth a controversial turn of phrase, as it disregarded its negative connotations. Colonialism and slavery are inextricably linked with the Dutch East India Company, and therefore, the Van Loon family are connected, with a contemporary discussion on these dark pages of Dutch history. The two Moors in the coat of arms of the Van Loon family, were added in the sixteenth century as symbols of its involvement in the spice trade.

Symposium
The Van Loon family wishes to dialogue with the public on this aspect of its history. Philippa van Loon, the youngest heiress of the family, initiated the project Suspended Histories, which will comprise an exhibition of contemporary art in the Autumn of 2013. Prior to this exhibition, on 24 September 2012 the public was invited to be involved in the further development of this project.