Project 1975 started in 2010 as a two-year project based in the Netherlands with the intent to explore the relationships between contemporary art and postcolonialism. With this project Stedelijk Museum Bureau Amsterdam (SMBA) explored the role of art and visual culture in the context of colonial practices. The project consisted of multiple exhibitions, seminars, reading groups, articles, and a blog. "1975" in the title refers to the year that Suriname gained independence (the independent Republic of Surinam was founded in 1975) and the Netherlands thus became to some extent "postcolonial"..
The project broadened SMBA’s focus, traditionally on artists based in Amsterdam, to include artists and people who were new to the city but wanted to contribute to the artistic and cultural environment. Consequently, themes that had not previously been addressed in art institutions in Amsterdam found a place to be discussed at SMBA. Many questions were raised in this project. Artists and critics responded to questions such as "Do colonial mindsets persist in art and in its institutions?".
Exhibitions
Exhibitions that took place in the context of Project 1975 were: "See Reason", "Identity Bluffs", "The Marx Lounge", "Mounira Al Solh & Bassam Ramlawi", "Informality, Art, Economy & Precarity", " Vincent Vulsma - A Sign of Autumn ", "The Jinn - Tala Madani", "Any other Business – Nicoline van Harskamp", "Bart Groenendaal, Stefan Ruitenbeek, Quinsy Gario", "The Memories are Present", "Time, Trade & Travel" and "Hollandaise - a Journey into an Iconic Fabric".
The project was finalized with a publication: Project 1975. Contemporary Art and the Postcolonial Unconscious which includes (visual) documentation of the project, interviews between the curators and artists and essays.