J. van der Vliet, 2016, 'anonymous, Model of a Merchantman, Netherlands, 1755', in J. van der Vliet and A. Lemmers (ed.), Navy Models in the Rijksmuseum, online coll. cat. Amsterdam: hdl.handle.net/10934/RM0001.COLLECT.245024. Source: Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
The Legacy of Slavery and Contemporary Museum Practice
Three scholars from the Netherlands discuss the legacy of the Dutch role in trans-Atlantic slavery and the significance of enacting socially and culturally inclusive strategies in museums for today and for the future.
Drop by on the NGC’s YouTube channel as of June 16 at 1 pm EDT to watch the recording of the lecture.
This event will feature three presentations:
1. Race and slavery in the Dutch World
How did racialized understandings of human difference develop in the early modern Dutch republic, and how are these developments related to the history of slavery in the Atlantic world? This lecture will trace the history of racialization and the Dutch role in trans-Atlantic slavery, its abolition and afterlives.
2. Rembrandt and Slavery
The Rijksmuseum Amsterdam is best known for its collection of 17th century paintings, of which Rembrandts’ Night Watch is the most famous. Now, for the first time in its history, the Rijksmuseum is organizing an exhibition on slavery. How do we connect this theme to the collection? What did we learn through working on this exhibition?
3. Museums See Colour: Who is afraid of being vulnerable, self-critical and curious?
As cultural institutions across the Netherlands endeavour to be more inclusive and address their colonialist past, ‘Musea bekennen kleur’ (Museums See Colour) is a new network of major and small Dutch museums that aims to anchor diversity and inclusion in the museum and heritage sector in a sustainable manner.
At this virtual event, you’ll hear from:
Assistant Professor, Leiden University, the Netherlands
Dr. Fatah-Black is lecturer social and economic history at the Institute for History of Leiden University. He has published on the history of early modern Atlantic trade, colonial government, slavery and emancipation.
Head of History, Rijksmuseum, the Netherlands
Valika Smeulders’ work focuses on heritage, the colonial past, social diversity, representation and new audiences. Since 2017, Smeulders has been a curator of history at the Rijksmuseum and, in 2020, she was named Head of History. She and her team are responsible for Slavery, the first exhibition at the Rijksmuseum to examine slavery in the Dutch colonial period
Founder and Managing Director, EducatieStudio, the Netherlands
Aspha Bijnaar, a Surinam-Dutch sociologist, is founder of the EducationStudio and coordinator of the Dutch national collaborative project Museums See Colour. Bijnaar has written and developed various publications, exhibitions and teaching packages on the heritage and legacy of slavery in the Netherlands and the Dutch colonies.
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