Online

Essential Information

Type Talks and tours
Location
Online
Date and Times Wednesday 26 February 2025 | 5.15pm-6.30pm
Prices Free
Important information

Due to unforeseen circumstances, this event has been postponed. Please check this webpage for updates.

‘Shadows on the Atlantic’ is a new gallery at Het Scheepvaartmuseum (the Dutch National Maritime Museum in Amsterdam). It explores colonial maritime history and how it has shaped people’s lives, at sea and on land, in the past and now. 

The gallery reveals how maritime history is inseparably linked with colonial violence and the legacy of slavery. Through this permanent gallery, the Museum aims to anchor this connection for the years to come. 

Join a free online talk to explore the story behind the gallery's creation, and hear from the curators as they reflect on the stories and objects featured. 

Learn more

Why is important to provide new perspectives on colonial maritime history? What have curators and other museum staff learnt from working on this gallery? What challenges and opportunities has the project presented? Which collections have been used and why? How has the Museum involved different communities?

Picture of a ship model
Model of D’Keulse Galy, courtesy of Het Scheepvaartmuseum, the National Maritime Museum, Amsterdam

Dyonna Benett (guest curator) and Suze Zijlstra (research curator) have both contributed to the development of this gallery. In this talk, they will reflect on the process of how traditional European perspectives were combined with stories focused on other people, especially Indigenous peoples and African peoples, including those who had been enslaved, and their descendants. 

Benett and Zijlstra will show how the gallery presents the Museum’s collection in new ways, with invaluable contributions from external experts and artists. This project is part of a broader organisational development aimed at providing new perspectives on history. Benett and Zijlstra will discuss how they, and the Museum, are navigating their way through this important but challenging process.

About the event

This event is free and open to everyone, and will take place via Zoom. The seminar will also be recorded.

This event is part of Maritime History and Culture Seminars. Find out more

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