Save the date! 365 days left for this exciting symposium I am convening on “Tourism and slavery heritage: geographies of cultural productions, cultural memory and commemoration” as part of my NWO Veni project.

This will be an international symposium exploring the ways in which tourism in its diverse cultural practices and performances transforms and narratives the past of slavery through particular forms of representations that engages the senses, emotions and imagination of visitors. We will consider the geographies of slavery heritage tourism sites around the world with a particular focus on the Dutch Atlantic world.

The Netherlands was one of the last countries in Europe to abolish slavery in 1873. This means that 2023 will be 150 years since slavery was abolished in the Dutch Atlantic. Many, including the political parties of GroenLinks and D66 have called on the government to dedicate 2023 as the year of remembering the history of slavery in the Netherlands. Over the past few years, the number of cultural productions and commemorative events relating to slavery have increased spanning from new research, books, building of monuments and multiple exhibitions in museums.

Of particular reference to this symposium is the proposed development of a Slavery Museum in Amsterdam in 2025. This symposium will involve both academic researchers, tour guides, museum professionals, policy makers and interested general public. We will discuss the transformative work of tourism in enabling us to engage with the past, present and future of slavery heritage by making visible traces that are hidden in plain sight.

Further information and details on the way…..

Save the date and join us in Amsterdam in 2023.  

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