Slavery in the Rijksmuseum

Rijksmuseum, the national museum of arts and history of the Netherlands, will stage its first ever major exhibition dedicated to the subject of slavery this spring. Slavery is inextricably bound up with Dutch history. It is the first time stories of slave trade across the Atlantic and the Indian Oceans are told together in one exhibition in the Netherlands.

Slavery will open as soon as the lockdown measures in the Netherlands allow. As slavery is such an integral part of Dutch history, the Rijksmuseum would like to offer as many visitors to experience the exhibition as possible. We are extending the exhibition until the summer.

The Slavery exhibition presents ten true stories. Ten personal stories about enslaved people and slave owners, people who resisted, and people who were brought to the Netherlands in slavery. What were their lives like? What was their attitude to the system of slavery? Were they able to make their own decisions?

The exhibition will include objects from national and international museums, archives and private collections like the Nationaal Museum voor Wereldculturen, British Museum, National Gallery of Denmark, Iziko Museums of South Africa, St Eustatius Historical Foundation, National Archeological Antropological Memory Management (NAAM) in Curaçao, the National Archives of South Africa, Indonesia and the Netherlands and private collections in Sint Eustatius, Suriname, the Netherlands.

Valika Smeulders, head of History Rijksmuseum: “By focusing on ten true personal stories, ‘Slavery’ gives an insight into how individuals dealt with legalized injustice.”

Taco Dibbits, General Director Rijksmuseum: “The Rijksmuseum is the national museum of art and history. Slavery is an integral part of our history. By delving into it, we can form a more complete picture of our history and a better understanding of today’s society.”

During the 250-year colonial period, people were made into property and objects to be recorded in accounts. The exhibition highlights the lives of ten people who lived at the time. They each tell their own story: about living in slavery or taking advantage of it, about resistance and – ultimately – freedom. They include enslaved people and slaveholders, as well as individuals who broke the shackles of slavery, an African servant in the Netherlands, and an Amsterdam sugar industrialist.

An audio tour leads visitors through these widely differing lives. Among the narrators are Joy Delima, Remy Bonjasky and Anastacia Larmonie, who each have a connection with one of the ten people through their own background. The exhibition includes objects, paintings and unique archival documents, and visitors will hear oral sources, poems and music. To tell a more complete story, there will be exhibits that have never been shown in the Rijksmuseum before, such as objects that were cherished by people in slavery, and tools that were used on plantations.

Once visitors have seen the exhibition, artists David Bade and Tirzo Martha from Instituto Buena Bista in Curaçao invites visitors to process their impressions in new, own artworks, entitled Look at me now.

The exhibition spans the Dutch colonial period from the 17th to the 19th century. It features the trans-Atlantic slavery in Suriname, Brazil and the Caribbean, and the part played by the Dutch West India Company (WIC); and Dutch colonial slavery in South Africa and Asia, where the Dutch East India Company (VOC) operated. The effects of the system in the Netherlands during the period are also highlighted. As a whole it offers a geographically broad and at the same time specifically Dutch view which has never been seen before in a national museum. Rijksmuseum & Slavery

From the opening of the exhibition, the relationship with slavery will also be specifically highlighted in other parts of the Rijksmuseum. For a year, around 70 objects in the collection will be given a second label explaining a previously hidden relationship with slavery.

Anonymous: Enslaved Men Digging Trenches, c. 1850, Rijksmuseum, purchased with the support of the Johan Huizinga Fonds/Rijksmuseum Fonds

Easy test drive, personal service and maintenance at home.

Dolly Bakfiets has been keeping young families moving for 10 years with its unique service at home, from test drive to maintenance. Since 2011, Dolly has worked on perfecting the electric cargo bike, with top quality, service and sustainability at the forefront. Its personal service plan consists of free test drives, delivery, repair service and maintenance. All in your own home, anywhere in the Netherlands.

Dolly has created one complete version of its bike, with all options included. In addition, all Dollies are built in the Netherlands, using locally produced parts as much as possible. The unique plastic family box is almost indestructible, durable and very light, and available in a wide range of colors. The strong powder-coated paintwork is done in the Bollenstreek, the solid wheels are hand-spoked in Utrecht, the boxes are cast in Brabant and the entire assembly of the bicycle takes place in Limburg and Utrecht, in high-tech cargo bike assembly workshops. These employ people with a distance to the labour market, building the Dolly with precision, love and passion. Everything to reach the goal of making the finest cargo bike that can be used instead of the car.

Book your test drive at www.dolly-bakfiets.nl or e-mail Dolly at info@dolly-bakfiets.nl

In 1959 Teddy Scholten was unexpectedly asked to participate in the National Song Contest. Teddy Scholten was a well-known artist through her performances on the radio and in the theater. To everyone’s surprise, she won brilliantly with the song Een Beetje (A bit) and thus became the Dutch delegation to the Eurovision Song Contest. Many witnessed how Teddy Scholten triumphed again in Cannes. A frenzied crowd awaited her on her return to Holland at Schiphol Airport. The Netherlands had its first star.

Teddy Scholten (1926-2010) was already on stage as a child, together with her parents who were enthusiastic amateur actors. Her husband Henk Scholten introduced her to the professional entertainment world. They settled in Rijswijk.

From 1955 Teddy and Henk played in the immensely popular Snip and Snap Revues. The Eurovision Song Contest was just a small job that came along, but the triumph in Cannes changed everything. In 1960 they stopped performing and moved into television studios. Their first program was Zaterdagavond Akkoorden (Saturday Night Chords) and kept viewers glued to the TV for years.

She was looked at with admiration. She was a star who was constantly in the spotlight, but also a wife and mother at the same time.

In 1965 Teddy stops singing but continues her television career as a presenter of various programs. She also provides commentary for several editions of the National and Eurovision Song Contest. She has also been ambassador of the Netherlands Red Cross for twelve years.

Teddy Scholten passed away in 2010. For more than sixty years she lived in Rijswijk, where she was a well-known figure. Every year, when the Eurovision Song Contest is approaching again, the success of Teddy Scholten is invariably reminded May 1 to June 13, 2021 Monday-Sunday 11.00-17.00