Decolonial Dialogues

There has been a historical reconstruction of the Dutch East India Company on view in the so-called VOC-zaal (Dutch East India Company room) in the Bushuis since the 1990s. For some time, there has been growing unease among staff and students about the way in which the colonial past of the Netherlands is presented/represented at this location. For that reason, the room has been closed since the summer of 2022 and following a period of reflection, the Faculty Board has decided to fully open the VOC-zaal in 2023 with a new goal: the public programme for the project Decolonial Dialogues@Humanities. 

From January 2023 to December 2023, researchers and students from the Faculty of Humanities, together with partner institutions and interested parties, will consider the future of the so-called VOC-zaal and the colonial past of the Bushuis. The aim is to create a safe and inspiring place for dialogues about decolonisation.

Submitting proposals

Decolonial Dialogues@Humanities will give three individual assignments to three artists who want to show existing or new work in and around the VOC-zaal (to be executed in fall 2023).

We are looking for artists who use their work to reflect on themes like:

• The VOC and the history of the Oost-Indisch Huis (East Indian House);
• Decolonisation and diversity;
• Slavery in the East;
• Dutch East India Company (VOC) and Dutch West India Company (WIC);
• Disputed cultural heritage.

The programming may include the following:

• Performances;
• Visual art;
• Media art;
• Installations;
• Sound art;
• Poetry and other forms of written art.

All programming will be curated by the programme team. For that reason, we may make changes, additions, or suggestions in terms of the content before we can accept the proposals.

If you have an idea for an artwork, performance or other artistic contribution, please submit your idea via the application form by 5 May 2023.

If you have an idea that is not yet fully thought out, you can also submit this idea as a proposal. We are happy to help you concretize them. All submissions are welcome, including those from outside the university.

We would like to receive:

• A short personal introduction;
• Description of the existing or new work that you want to present;
• A plan for how you want to exhibit the work, how you want to produce it and what you need to do so.

Financial contribution

In terms of payment of the artists, as well as ‘hanging fees’ and production budgets for new work, the project will follow the Fair Practice Code of the Mondriaan Fund. For more information, please consult this webpage.

Deadline for proposals: 5 May 2023

Practical information

Please note: all programming will be free and open to the public.

Questions?