In 1595, two teenage boys were taken from Madagascar by Dutch traders on their first expedition to Asia. The traders renamed them Lourens and Madagascar. These boys became the first known enslaved individuals trafficked by what would later become the Dutch East India Company (VOC). Journalist Leendert van der Valk unearthed their story in the archives. Writer Clarice Gargard transformed Leendert’s findings into a powerful new theatre text.

In june 2025, the book Volg het Spoor was published as a public-oriented edition of a research project on the involvement of Arnhem and the province of Gelderland in the Dutch slavery past. The book presents dozens of historical stories that link the city of Arnhem and its institutions, families, and streets to the Dutch colonial system and the transatlantic slave trade. I was asked to create the cover illustration for this publication.

In every province of the Netherlands, residents are working together on an impressive tapestry that depicts the regional history of the colonial slavery past. For Gelderland, artist and curator Richard Kofi designed a tapestry no less than 35 meters long, which expresses both history and hope for the future.

This program specifically focuses on a quest for liberation from the afterlives of the colonial past and afterlives of slavery. During that time, divide-and-conquer mechanisms were structurally applied to legitimize exploitation and dismantle opposition, protest and revolt. Although slavery has been abolished, our thinking, our bodies, and thus our daily lives are still influenced by colonial traces, memories and behaviours.

Mi Pret’i Wowo is an interdisciplinary rhythmic exploration of connection and healing.