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Bringing people, nations and cultures together

10 April 2006 - Dr. Pamela Croft produces Mural in Stolen generations exhibition in Holland.

Dr. Pamela Croft is currently in Holland for the exhibition "Zoetermeer Down Under : living in two worlds " organised by Dreamweb and the city museum of Zoetermeer, a town adjacent to The Hague. What comes alive with the help of her hands, and the hands of schoolchildren, visitors, artists and immigrants in Zoetermeer is a stunning piece of mutual art.

Using Aboriginal symbols as a connecting force, Pamela creates a story on one of the bigger museumwalls. It is the story of the connection of Holland and Australia, the 400 years of bounds are celebrated this year, and the connection of people in general. With the display of the Duyfken, the Dutch explorers ships that once touched Australia's soil in 1606, the story begins.

"The Dutch where traders, and left our country", Pamela Explains the hundreds of schoolchildren visiting the exhibition. "Where the English came and claimed our land, an unexpected turn of Aboriginal history, and a painful history.

The handprints that we ask you to put on the mural, represent in our culture, the connection of our spirit with the land. This makes us strong, today and in the future". And so the mural slowly gets it's colors, handprints and design, and takes it's strong place within the exhibition.

The concept of the exhibition itself is the display of 13 portraits of Aboriginal people from the Stolen Generations. Dreamweb's director Lucien Lecarme, fotographer FritsFalkenhagen and Rob Tol went to Australia in January 2006 to talk to the Aboriginal people, and organisations like the National Library and the National Sorry Committee.

After the travel through 4 states, and the often intimate and deep encounters with the people that now are part of the exhibition, back in Holland the exhibition was made public to press and people. It is officially part of the 400 years celebration programme and the Australian Embassy was present at the opening, together with the Major of Zoetermeer, a town with 120.000 inhabitants.

Some artwork is displayed, like work of Pamela Croft, and Robert Campbell Jr's Bicentennary, a loan from the World museum in Rotterdam.

Pamela is working on the mural until April 14. The exhibition runs to may 28th. A Dutch Sorry day will be held at May 26th.

More information

http://www.dreamweb.nl/ZDU/zoetermeerdownunder.htm

Further information: stolen generations issues page - includes news index and external links