Voortschrijdend inzicht

Last May, the municipality asked six artists for their vision on a artwork about the abolition of slavery. The purpose of the artwork is to celebrate, commemorate, and come together. It will soon have a beautiful place in the city, for example in a park.

Councilor for culture and heritage, Marike de Nobel: "Although we know that the Breda municipal government did not have money to invest in slavery, we do know that there have been people and organizations in Breda who did. That is why it is important to draw attention to the dark pages of our history. With an artwork, the subject will receive lasting attention in Breda."

The artists 

The participating artists are Leonardiansyah Allenda, Yair Callender, Raquel van Haver, Domenique Himmelsbach de Vries, Nokukhanya Langa, and Boetje Pattirane. They tell in video portraits about their work and their view on the abolition of slavery. Their proposals are shown in an installation designed by Patricia Gevers. In the weeks that the exhibition is on display, the Breda City Archives will add a timeline with a number of short stories about the city's slavery past.

Meeting on May 3

On May 3, a meeting will follow where, among other things, the names of the selected artists will be announced who will be commissioned to further develop their ideas. They are selected by a committee with Charl Landvreugd (Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam), Dewi van Hoek (Stichting Arjati Breda), Martien Kuipers (municipality of Breda), and Shirley Dap and Abdol Motavassel (St. Joost School of Art & Design).

'Voortschrijdend inzicht' is a collaboration between the municipality of Breda, the Breda Slavery Abolition Commemoration Foundation, Breda City Archives, and Breda City Museum.

The installation with proposals from the artists was already shown last year at the Chassé Theater.