UD
16 April 2026

Undesirables

PERFORMANCE LECTURE | 18 April | 19.00 - 20.30 | Framer Framed, Amsterdam

During this performance lecture artist filmmaker Sabine Groenewegen shares from her ongoing research on the Dutch colonial plantocracy. Groenewegen's research is a furtherance of her artwork Surrounding Silences that was on display in the exhibition Imprints at Wereldmuseum Amsterdam in 2024-2025. In the early 20th century Dutch planters founded a private secret service in Sumatra to surveil, intimidate and exile those they labelled as ‘undesirables’. Their reports reveal anxiety about union organizers, women’s movements and satay vendors passing revolutionary messages. Using the archival documents against the grain, the artist unearths resistance to racial capitalism despite attempts to suppress it.

As capacity is limited for this event, please send an email to: rcmc@wereldmuseum.nl to register.

 

Image credit: Nationaal Archief, Archiefnummer: 2.20.46, Inventarisnummer: 61. Stukken betreffende de oprichting, werkzaamheden en rapportage van de Inlichtingendienst van de Deli Planters Vereeniging.

About the artist

The work of artist filmmaker Sabine Groenewegen employs a variety of visual and speculative modes to uncover hidden or sidelined histories, bringing them to light and activating them alongside their heritage. Her award-winning films Odyssey (2018) and Remanence (2024) have screened at internationally renowned festivals and institutions such Doclisboa, FIDMarseille, Cinéma du Reél, Festival dei Popoli, Jihlava, ICA, and Bozar. Her moving image work has been exhibited in Stroom, 1646, Kunstfort Vijfhuizen, and EYE Filmmuseum. 

Eye(s) Open | New Perspectives on Colonial Film Heritage

In conjuction to the performance lecture by Groenewegen, her work will be on display as part of the group exhibition and program Eye(s) Open at Eye Filmmuseum, opening on April 3rd 2026. In the exhibition, eleven artists respond to Eye’s collection of some 2,000 colonial-era films from formerly occupied regions in Indonesia, Suriname and the Antilles.

poster Eye(s) Open – New Perspectives on Colonial Film Heritage

Wereldmuseum Amsterdam; where global art, design and culture intersect to tell stories of global connections and revisit historical injustice.

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