New museum above Suriname in Amsterdam: ‘A long-cherished dream’
A new museum will be opened in Amsterdam with a permanent exhibition about Surinamese history and culture and about the complex relationship between the Netherlands and Suriname. The Suriname Museum wants to open its doors in 2023.
The museum will be located in a building on Zeeburgerdijk, which is owned by the Vereniging Ons Suriname. The exhibition will cover several floors and exhibit objects from different periods. “From the moment the first Dutchman set foot on Surinamese soil, until the moment the first Surinamese arrived in the Netherlands”, one of the initiators, Vincent Soekra, told NH News.
The exhibition will cover 1300 square meters and will be arranged by the artists Felix de Rooy and René Wissink.
Dream
With the arrival of a museum, a long-cherished dream of Sukra is being fulfilled. “There are now third, fourth, fifth, and perhaps more generations of Surinamese living here in the Netherlands, and probably never leaving.”
According to co-initiator Jan Gerards, many young Surinamese know little about their background. “With this museum we want to make that history visible to the general public. Schools and universities can also visit.” Both initiators work for Vereniging Ons Suriname. They also devised preceded by Keti Koti, among others.