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Plans for National Slavery Museum in Amsterdam gain momentum
The Dutch city of Amsterdam, led by mayor Femke Halsema, is taking big steps towards getting the National Slavery Museum, it was announced on the city’s webpage.
Touria Meliani, the city’s alderman for culture, stated on social media: “The slavery museum in Amsterdam is taking shape! In May 2021 Rutger Groot Wassink, mayor Femke Halsema and I received the exploration report ‘With the power of the ancestors’. A joint advice of the Kunstraad and the Raad van Cultuur followed.”
The new museum is meant to shed light not only on the Dutch colonial past, but also the place slavery had in the global history. Amsterdam city council proposed a museum dedicated to the history of transatlantic slavery in back in 2017, since when dialogues with numerous cultural organizations and individuals have taken place.
“Today, as a college, we are taking a very important step by establishing which stories the museum will tell and where the museum could be located, including room for new locations. I am proud that we are taking this step and I thank everyone for their contribution. Because society’s need for a museum about the history of slavery is great,” Meliani further stated.
The national slavery museum is expected to be built in the Dutch capital in the upcoming years. There are currently 9 locations which are being considered, including Kop Java Island and Sixhaven. The Dutch government and the municipality of Amsterdam will be working together to realize this project.
In July last year, mayor of Amsterdam Femke Halsema offered a formal apology for the role Amsterdam has played in slavery during the Dutch colonial era. That made Amsterdam the first city in the Netherlands whose officials have issued an apology for involvement in the slave trade.
“This museum offers space for recognition, information, education and reflection. Very good that this is coming,” Meliani concluded. (photo credit: wikimedia)
