Background
The project stems from a painting that is part of the Time, Trade & Travel exhibition by the Stedelijk Museum Bureau Amsterdam (SMBA) in collaboration with the Nubuke Foundation in Accra, Ghana. Jeremiah Quarshie created the painting to reflect the quest for identity, merging the narrative of the 18th century enslaved Avantuur and the Dutch-Surinamese soccer legend Clarence Seedorf. Aro
und 1774, four-year old Avantuur was kidnapped in West Africa, enslaved and shipped to Suriname, South America. Avantuur is the African-born ancestor of the Surinamese Muntslag clan. The narrative of the Muntslag family is written across the portrait of the renowned football player, Clarence Seedorf. Also born in Suriname (South America), Seedorf exemplifies the quest for identity. Whether Dutch, Surinamese, and/or African, he is now back on his continent of birth, contracted by the Brazilian club Botafogo in the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A. The Need
Throughout the world, most people are placed (or place themselves) into broad and general categories of identity, often based on nationality and a visible ethnicity. However, all of us have a far more complex history and self-understanding that can and should be celebrated. For many Afro-Surinamese, whether living in Suriname, the Netherlands, or elsewhere, limited access to their cultural history and little knowledge of their ancestry has robbed them of an opportunity to assert full control over claims of their identity. With a clear understanding of where they come from and how they arrived where they are today, individuals are better able to create their own identity narratives. Through a celebration of history, family, ancestry, and the processes of discovery, we seek to support the efforts of Afro-Surinamese (and all) people in the quest to answer the question, “who am I?”
The Approach
A Workstream of 5 Projects:
* Muntslag family research by Ank Muntslag:
- Documentation of the Muntslag family tree
- Ank Muntslag book on the story of Avantuur and the Muntslag clan (2014)
* Diaspora Art Project by Jeremiah Quarshie
- Jeremiah Quarshie art exchange program with Suriname (May 2013)
- Diaspora Who am I? painting to Suriname (1 July 2013)
- Keti-Koti Exhibition in Suriname (1 July 2013)
* My Family Tree research project by Dana Saxon
- Curriculum-guided family history research for students
- Documenting oral histories of elders
- Student presentations of projects and results
* Keti Koti Symposium by Erwin Muntslag
- Suriname Symposium (1 July 2013)
- Sharing knowledge and resources related to Surinamese family research
- Discussions of identity and ancestry
* Outreach and promotion by Patrick Dorder
- Promotion through documentary, radio, print media, blogs
- RNW Radio report with Ank Muntslag & Jeremiah Quarshie .
- Increasing the reach of the Who Am I?
