Cursor | News

Questions about cultural identity during project ‘Be[com]ing Dutch’

22 november 2007 - To what extent does one’s cultural background influence one’s identity? Do different cultural backgrounds cause a distance between people or, indeed, do they add a new dimension? The project Be[com]ing Dutch wonders whether art can make us think about ways of living together in this day and age. The second part of the project is taking place under the title of ‘Eindhoven Caucus’ at the Van Abbemuseum from 9 November to 6 December.

Be[com]ing Dutch is a two-year project that is developing both within and outside the Van Abbemuseum. The project includes debates, reading groups, artists’ projects and exhibitions.
At the end of January 2007 the project Be[com]ing Dutch was launched at the Van Abbemuseum with The Gatherings; a weekend of discussions, debates, art projects and presentations. The discussions are continued in the second part of the project: Eindhoven Caucus. Usually a caucus is a meeting of politicians, who make decisions about the future policy. The idea of the Caucus is to stimulate the discursive atmosphere within the city and to create an opportunity for the ambition of the Van Abbemuseum: art should mix and mingle with social life and with political thinking.
In the weekends of 9 November thru 6 December people will discuss artistic activity in relation to democracy, cultural diversity and nationality. Discussions are conducted in English. During every weekend there will be a series of presentations and discussions accessible both to participants and to the general public. The weekday program consists of a series of workshops, films and discussions for the participants in the Caucus, but the registration for this is closed now.
Some central paradoxes of the Caucus around which the program will be developed are: the revival of nationalism versus the reality of globalization and migration. How can a museum bring about any change in a provincial city like Eindhoven?
In the final stage of the project a grand exhibition of selected and new, commissioned works will open on 26 May 2008 to show the results of twenty months of interdisciplinary and public deliberations. In November 2008 the project will be closed with a publication, which will present and document the research and the development of Be[com]ing Dutch from its very beginning until the exhibition itself./.

More information about Be[com]ing Dutch can be found on: http://becomingdutch.com and www.vanabbemuseum.nl.
Participation is free. Participants are asked, though, to pay eight euros as compensation for lunch, coffee and tea, on the site. Registration for the lectures is obligatory and can be effected via the website.