Witte de With Center for Contemporary Art in Rotterdam has announced it will be changing its name in 2018, in order to ‘decolonise’ the connotations associated with it. Established in 1990, its name was originally drawn from the street it settled in, which itself honoured the Admiral Witte Corneliszoon de With (1599–1658), a Dutch naval officer engaged in colonial exploits. Director Defne Ayas said the decision stemmed from a summer project, Cinema Olanda: Platform, which worked as an extension to Wendelien van Oldenborgh’s presentation at the Dutch Pavilion in Venice, and attempted to rethink the country’s identity on an international level. Ayas added that the name change would most likely take effect after her successor takes over in 2018.
7 September 2017
