Anti Racism Week 2026

What is our personal responsibility in the case of the afterlives of this history in present-day society? What do we feel about this, and what can we do to acknowledge this past in the present?  

On March 19th music- & dance-theatre performance Louise, Radiant Shadow 3, can be experienced as part of the University of Amsterdam's Anti Racism week programme. This music- & dance-theatre production and subsequent workshop addresses a more personal experience of this topic of the colonial and slavery history. Louise brings a ‘Lived Experience’ of the past through the performance, and a focus on our own embodied knowledge in the workshop to create a space of acknowledgement and healing. This programme can help us personally to experience and reflect on this topic of shared history of colonialism and slavery.

More info:

Louise

Louise is the third and last performance of the Radiant Shadow series, a triptych of music- & dance theatre productions, after which an embodied conversation will take place. The three performances center around the necessity of delving into the Dutch colonial history and its reverberations. This production shows a shared part of our history, the dark side of Dutch prosperity.

Anti Racism Week 2026

On March 19th as part of the University of Amsterdam’s programme of the anti-racism week the performance programme of Louise, Radiant Shadow 3, will create a Lived- and Embodied Experience that will make perspectives that were marginalized visible, palpable and tangible. In Louise we acknowledge the historically silenced voices and the afterlives of colonial and slavery past in present day to create a space of acknowledgement and healing.

The performance Louise is based on the embroidery of the 18th Century white woman Louise van Ommeren- Hengevelt from Arnhem (1794). Embroidery and needlepoint were often seen as a ‘craft’ instead of a work of Art, as it was part of what women produced in the domain of their home. But this embroidery is, apart from the beautiful needlework and colours also a protest against slavery. Underneath the work the following text is seen:

Komt, daar onse harten bloeden

Op het zien van slavernij

Dat onse daden spreken

Laten wij dit muisje vrij

[Come, now that our hearts bleed

As we look upon slavery

That our deeds may speak

To set this little mouse free

English Translation: Farida Nabibaks]

[Embroidery Louise van Ommeren-Hengevelt (1794) collection Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam]

The still life ‘The world of Louise’, made by visual artist Louise te Poele, seems a silent witness of the life of the historic figure, Louise. What made this well-to-do woman from Arnhem stitch such a protest on slavery? What does it say about her and her life as a woman in this Dutch colonial and patriarchic society? In this third and concluding Radiant Shadow performance a new horizon emanates and catches our eye…

Programme Anti Racism week:

Thursday March 19th

Venue: CREA

Nieuwe Achtergracht 170

10 18 WV Amsterdam  

Start performance:8:15 pm

Start after performance programme: 9:15

End of programme: approx. 10:00 pm

Creative Team:

Artistic director: Farida Nabibaks

Composer: Jean Jacques Rojer

Musical director: Heleen Vegter

Production manager: Rina Bernabela

Cast:

Willemijn van Helden

Yara van Fraeijenhove

Fernando Linares Correa

Rohiet Tjon Poen Gie

Lana Renfrum

Yanira Gefferie

Melano Bruinhart

Jasper Bärtling-Lippina

Felix van der Heijden

Thanks to:

Visual Artist Louise te Poele

Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

Carl Haarnack – Buku Biblioteca Surinamica

Reframing HERstory Art FoundationReframing HERstory Art Foundation, located in Arnhem, is the producer of the performance and workshop programme. With this work the foundation contributes to raising awareness and bringing education about the colonial and slavery past of Gelderland to our audiences, with a focus on healing from this past. After 150 years of emancipation, the emphasis is on the urgency to bring the voices that were marginalized to the foreground and reflect on this history that is still present today.

The programme will be in English.

You can view a short trailer here!

About the CDO

The Central Diversity Office exists to serve as a critical friend and to enhance diversity, inclusion, and equality (DIG) at the UvA. We share our knowledge and experience by providing advice as needed and organizing activities. We seek connections and support everyone who wants to commit to DIG.