Huge amounts of capital were accumulated through colonial trade. So what happened to it? How many generations of families have benefited from these terrible histories, and at the expense of what and who?
Returning the Gaze is the latest site-specific performance by Amsterdam-based Sites of Memory. It's about whose voice is heard, ignored or acknowledged, whose face is seen, or erased and covered up. The dominant gaze, often white, versus the suppressed perspective from which colonial history is viewed, are central to this performance. The audience will be taken on a walking tour from Willet-Holthuysen museum to Amsterdam Museum along the Amstel.
These museums and their collections, and the history of the buildings and the city, together form the starting point for this performance. The artists reflect on themes such as wealth and power from different perspectives. What happened to capital obtained through colonial trade, how many generations of families benefited from it, and at the expense of what and who? At the expense of where? Returning the Gaze shares underrepresented local stories from the colonial past through dance, poetry, and music.
Watch the phenomenal trailer:
Performances are in the weekends of 23 until 25 Sept and 30 Sept until 2 Oct. More informations and tickets here.
