 | | Even though summer holidays are approaching, the wheels of our Shared Cultural Heritage Programme keep on turning. Learn about the heritage of the Dritabiki Marroon village in Surinam, meet our expert Frank Bergevoet and check out the new publications and events!
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|  | The Marroons of Surinam are a people with a unique history. The Marroons descended from enslaved people that escaped their slavers and fled into the jungle of Surinam, and developed their own symbiotic culture away from their former colonial master. Some of the challenges the modern Aukan Marroon community faces are, in a certain sense, comparable with the situation in the Dutch countryside. The traditions of this community are under pressure from modern technologies and communications, while more and more young people are moving away to the cities, leaving an increasingly aging population in the Aukan villages.
Seeing the challenges faced by his community, the Aukan Chief Bono Valenti requested the advice of the Cultural Heritage Agency (RCE). First, RCE experts visited the Aukan Marroon community in Dritabiki in 2015. In turn, the Chief Valenti and his delegation visited the Netherlands in April of this year. The delegation was shown various best practices and met institutions that might be able to support their community. One possibility the Chief is considering is to create a community museum in his predecessor’s home in Dritabiki. As a follow-up, a report will be drafted by the RCE in close consultation with the delegation that reflects on the findings of the visit and offers advice for Chief Bono Velanti.
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| This newsletter’s expert in the spotlight is Frank Bergevoet. Frank is a museum expert at the RCE who mainly works on the online accessibility of museum collections. He started working as an intern at the Visual Arts Agency in the Hague in 1990. After a few fusions with other government agencies, this Agency became a part of the RCE. In 2016, Frank was one of the experts on the team that moved the RCE’s Maritime Archaeology Collection of 40.000 items to a new location in Lelystad. Next to that, he spends one day per week working for the Dordrechts Museum.
When it comes to shared cultural heritage, Frank has the honour of working on one of the most exciting projects of this year: the excavation of the Rooswijk. The remains of this 18th century Dutch East India Company (VOC) ship that sank off the British Coast in 1740 will be researched and partly excavated by a team of Dutch and British experts in a joint project by the RCE and Historic England. Frank will be responsible for the alignment of the English and Dutch system of recording and categorization of the finds. In approximately one-and-a-half years, the findings from the Rooswijk will be sent to the Netherlands and brought under the custody of the Dutch state.
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| Heritage Round Table NL/US: Dutch Culture in New York
This June, a heritage delegation from New York State will visit the Netherlands to explore possibilities for cooperation in the field of shared heritage. They will participate in a ‘round table’ with representatives from a wide range of institutions in the Netherlands to discuss project and policy partnerships around shared cultural heritage. Next to this, the delegation will also visit, among others, the Rembrandthuis, the US Consulate General in Amsterdam, the Cultural Heritage Agency and the Westfries Museum in Hoorn. Visit and round table are organised by the Consulate General of the Netherlands in New York, DutchCulture and the RCE. Involved RCE experts: Jinna Smit, Jean-Paul Corten, Martijn Manders and Hanna Pennock
Returning to Rostov
The RCE returned to Rostov Veliky this May, to discuss the future of the Rostov fort project. Together with their Russian partners, the RCE experts will prepare activities and training to promote public participation with the old fortifications of this beautiful Russian town. In cooperation with, amongst others, the Kremlin State museum and AUPIK, a Russian organisation dedicated to heritage and development, the RCE hopes to contribute to setting up an executive organisation to redevelop and preserve the Rostov Veliky fortifications. Involved RCE expert: Jon van Rooijen
The Dutch graveyard in Nagapattinam
Next to the modern graveyard at St. Peters’ Church in Nagapattinam, there is an old Dutch East India Company graveyard. Currently, the graveyard is in a rundown condition and is not registered as a protected monument. Local partners though, are aware of the graveyard’s value and have recently cleaned up the graves together with schools in the area. Because there is not enough know-how to properly preserve the graveyard, the RCE has been asked to lend a hand. During the workshop, held from the 17th to the 19th of May, a management plan was developed, next to restoration plans for three objects in the graveyard. Involved RCE expert: Nanette de Jong
Masterclasses in Omsk
The Cultural Inventory Foundation (SCI) has organised master classes on the preservation of museum collections in Omsk, Russia, which will feature RCE experts and will be continued in the month of June. A surprising amount of Dutch and Flemish paintings from the early modern era found their way to far off Siberia. In the M.A. Vrubel museum in Omsk experts will discuss material technology research of paintings. Next to that, a class on varnishing will be held as well. Involved RCE expert: Luc Megens
How to make the Underwater Cultural Heritage Convention work
From the 29th of June to the 1st of July, a symposium on the UNESCO Convention on the Protection of Underwater Cultural Heritage will be organised in Amersfoort by ICOMOS Netherlands and two ICOMOS scientific committees (ICLAFI and ICUCH). The RCE contributes to the symposium to support the exchange of knowledge and ideas on this important subject. In what manner can the Convention truly work? How can the obligations and responsibilities of the Convention best be implemented within national legal systems, and equally important, in the working practice? How can we make sure that the legal aspects of the Convention match the practice of managing UCH? Involved RCE experts: Leonard de Wit and Martijn Manders
Westfort Revisited
In the middle of July, a new chapter will be written in the Westfort project in South Africa. The Wesfort village was designed and built by Dutch architects at the end of the 19th century. The residents of Westfort, a once-abandoned and now squatted former leper colony, requested the advice of Dutch and South African students to develop a plan for a sustainable future. Their research has been partly financed and supported by the RCE. In July, a round table will be held with all the stakeholders to find common ground about the future development of Westfort village. Involved RCE experts: Jean-Paul Corten, Merel Godrie and Marieke Kuipers
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| This newsletter on the Shared Cultural Heritage programme of the RCE is produced by the Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands. Our SCH programme follows from the International Cultural Policy Framework of the Netherlands government. Within this framework, the RCE aims at knowledge exchange and international cooperation in the context of sustainable conservation and use of shared cultural heritage.
For more information about the SCH programme and projects of the RCE, please visit our website (Dutch and English) and the Cultural Heritage Connections database. |
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Calendar
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| | Event: ‘Mapping Slavery in New York’ | In August 2017, 'Dutch New York Histories, Connecting Native American, African and Slavery Heritage' will be published. Due to the visit of two of the American partners, the Mapping Slavery team would like to give a sneak preview of their work. At SPUI25, Amsterdam
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| | ICOMOS Lecture: ‘The Netherlands and India’ | | Lennart Bes, Leon Bok and Nanette de Jong will give lectures related to the shared cultural heritage of the Netherlands and India. The Dutch East India Company (VOC) and the VOC burial ground at Nagapattinam will be the main subjects. At DutchCulture, Amsterdam | |
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| | Lecture: ‘Cooking with VOC recipes' | | A Lecture by tv-chef Danny Jansen on his fascination of historical cookbooks and what to do with the recipes. At the Nationaal Archief, The Hague | |
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| | Exhibition: 'Sporen van Smaragd’ | | In 2017 it will be 150 years ago that the first train in Indonesia completed its maiden journey from Semarang to Tangoeng. For this occasion, the Spoorwegmuseum has arranged and exhibition on the history of railroads in Indonesia. | |
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