Hidden (Hi)stories Symposium

Hidden (Hi)stories presents projects that use design research to explore hidden stories from the Dutch colonial past and postcolonial present. Designers, architects, researchers and artists will discuss ways in which these hidden histories can be made tangible, accessible and discussable. Hidden (Hi)stories is a collaboration between the Nieuwe Instituut and the Creative Industries Fund NL.

The following (hi)stories will be discussed during this symposium: the role of the Netherlands in the trade of the medicine quinine from the forests of Colombia; the joint archiving of the genocide in Srebrenica; the use of oral histories to preserve the stories of communities in Curaçao; and the contribution of the first female architects to urban planning in Indonesia after independence in 1949.

What do these stories mean for spatial planning decisions, for the use or depletion of sources and materials, or for the accessibility of archives and technology? What is our (institutional) responsibility in this? What does it mean to preserve or reveal when there are no tangible documents or when the possibilities for doing so are limited? And how can we make these hidden histories visible and respectful?

Programme

• 13:30 Introduction by Aric Chen
• 13:35 Nieuwe Instituut en Stimuleringsfonds Creatieve Industrie: open call and selection procedure
• 13:45 Panel 1: Listening to Silenced Histories (moderated by Roxanne da Graca)
• 14:15 Panel 2: Tracing Immaterial Histories (moderated by Delany Boutkan)
• 15:00 Panel 3: Tooling Hidden Histories (moderated by Setareh Noorani)
• 15:45 Reflection by Wayne Modest (respondent)
• 16.30: End of programme

Hidden (Hi)stories is an open call by the Creative Industries Fund NL, which aims to unlock hidden stories through design. The 13 selected projects focus specifically on the impact of architecture and urban planning, nature and ecology, and social rituals and practices in different countries and regions. See all selected projects.

Host or Publisher Nieuwe Instituut