They are cultural trendsetters from countries as diverse as China, Colombia, Bangladesh and Rwanda. The Dutch Prins Claus Fund supports their often risky work. They came to Amsterdam recently to recharge their batteries.

“They’re courageous individuals and organisations who are working under difficult conditions,” explains Christa Meindersma, director of the fund named after Prince Claus of the Netherlands, the late husband of Queen Beatrix. These pioneers meet up somewhere in the world twice a year. This time around the Netherlands provided the venue for networking, sharing ideas and mutual inspiration.

Shahidul Alam, Drik (Bangladesh)

The one-day exhibition

Alam is a key figure in the cultural life of Bangladesh. Together with his organisation he founded a leading photography course. He also introduced Bangladesh to e-mail. For him, shooting a portrait of the prime minister for the cover of Time magazine is all in a day’s work.

He recently hit the headlines with his project Crossfire. “With Crossfire we wanted to highlight the issue of executions without trial. In Bangladesh, such killings are carried out by the Rapid Action Battalion, a kind of combat group. We tried to visualise the darkness and the fear that the victims must have felt.” The authorities banned the exhibition but mass demonstrations pressured them into allowing it to open for a single day.

Carlos Jiménez Holguín, Museo de Antioquia (Colombia)

Forgotten heritage

Jiménez Holguín works at a museum in the city of Medellín. There he has set up a project with the residents of a district called Comuna 1. Museum staff head out into the community, make audio and video recordings of the residents, collect old photographs and newspaper cuttings, and document the district’s history. “Our project is bringing the history of forgotten people to light. These are the people you only ever hear about in a violent incident on the news,” says Jiménez Holguín.

His project ended up being about self-respect. “The word didn’t even feature in my initial concept, but that’s what it’s all about: giving people the feeling that they too are part of history.” Hence the title of the first exhibition: Yo soy patrimonio (I am heritage).

Odile Gakire Katese (Rwanda)

An ice cream from Sweet Dreams

Rwanda is scarred by the genocide of 1994. Against this background, Gakire Katese has set up cultural festivals, a dance group and a women’s percussion group. But Rwanda is also a beacon of reconciliation.

“It’s a country of miracles: the genocide is impossible to comprehend and the present spirit of forgiveness is just as incomprehensible. All I can do is accept it as a miracle. In Rwanda, culprits and victims live side by side. We share everything: the land, the culture. We have no choice. We must move on together.”
With the women from her percussion group, Gakire Katese has opened an ice-cream parlour called Sweet Dreams. Not just to create jobs for her drummers, but because the people of Rwanda are in need of simple pleasures like ice cream.

Defne Ayas, Art Hub Asia (Shanghai)

You never know what the censor will accept

Defne Ayas’ roots lie in Turkey. She works for Art Hub Asia, an organisation that supports contemporary art in China and other Asian countries.

“You can only really understand the world if you understand China. Contemporary culture is very much alive there. Not only have Chinese artists established deeper contact with the international art world, but they return again and again to the wellsprings of Chinese culture.”

Ayas regards the internet as one of the key elements in contemporary culture, despite censorship. “If you want to understand China, you can’t think about censorship and politics in terms of black and white. You never know in advance what the censor will accept or not.

Some issues you think are way too sensitive turn out to be no problem at all. And sometimes the censor objects to something totally unexpected. It could even be for aesthetic reasons, because the censor simply thinks an artwork is ugly. But independent artists can often work without any hindrance.”

What about the imprisoned artist Ai Weiwei? “Many Chinese artists think he went too far. His way of working may have made him a hero in the West, but he doesn’t have the support of many Chinese artists. Thanks to him we see the dark side of China. That’s a good thing too. Every country has its dark side.”

(dd)

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