CURRENT EXHIBITION- Black Inventors- through June 2011

If you ask young Afro-Caribbean people who they consider to be good role models, you’ll hear a mix of sports heroes, rappers, musicians, actors and TV-personalities, such as Oprah Winfrey. And with the arrival of Barrack Obama as president, black politicians are also starting to enter the picture. But there is another group of remarkable people, all too frequently forgotten and unknown to the youth of today, who are excellent role models for our young people: the black inventors and scientists.

Important inventions which are a part of our daily life, such as the traffic light, the shoe-lasting machine and the toilet paper holder, have all been invented by African-Americans. Because the UN has proclaimed 2011 to be the international year for people of African origin, NiNsee has organized an exhibition that brings attention to the lives of black inventors. In this exhibition, we draw attention to a number of the men and women from the African Diaspora who have contributed and made a significant mark on Western society.

With E-Quality, the centre for emancipation, family and diversity, NiNsee is seizing the opportunity this UN initiative presents, to introduce African role models to primary school students. Together, this spring, we will develop a teaching package for primary schools that will aim at addressing the issues surrounding discrimination and representation.  Extra attention will be paid to Dutch slavery past and the position of women in that time.

 It will also aim to impress upon primary school students how the slavery past in the year 2011 still plays a significant role in the representation of and discrimination against women and men of African origin

 RECENT EXHIBITION  Artists of the Caribbean  

In this small exposition, we featured the work of the artists Frank Creton and Runny Margarita. These paintings are linked to their respective Caribbean roots. Frank Creton is a Surinamese artist who has exhibited internationally.  His work reflects the complex socio-cultural history of Suriname. Musician, poet and painter Runny Margarita hails from the island of Curacao.  He is an accomplished self taught artist who performs regularly on stage and exhibits in his new home, Amsterdam. 

TRAVELING EXHIBITION Child in Chains- now in Fort Amsterdam through July 2011

NiNsee presents an exhibition, an Internet site, a children’s book and a scientific publication concerning “Children in Slavery, Then and Now.” With the exhibition “Child in Chains” NiNsee wants to break through the silence concerning children in slavery. We often do not realize that in the past not only adults but also children lived and worked as slaves in the Dutch colonies. Just as we also cannot ignore the fact that still today there are children who live in slavery.

There is not much known about the children who in the previous centuries lived in slavery in our colonies. But what we do know, comes to life in an engaging exhibition. Come and experience how these children lived, how they played and sang but also how they had to work unbearably hard.

Experience the reality of the children that now, in different parts of the world, are forced into cheap or totally unpaid labor by traders without a conscience. See how these children play, sing and live while they must work under unbearable conditions. Do they still remain children like we were? Do they also dream about “when I grow up…” just like our children? But perhaps more important: can we here in the Netherlands do something to help the situation of these children who also deserve to have a childhood?

Child in Chains lets you get to know the story from many different sides. A learning experience and a moving experience for the whole family! 


For more details, please see the website www.kindaandeketting.nl

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