READ OUR COLONIAL INHERITANCE I 9 December 2023 Julia Jouwe & Robinson Jouwe✨

Today, 1 December, we remember the first raising of West Papua’s symbol of independence, the Morning Star Flag in 1961. A year later the Indonesian military forces launched a violent invasion. Observers like Human Rights Watch, United Nations Human Rights and Amnesty International estimate that between 100,000 and 500,000 West Papuans have been killed since the Indonesian military takeover of West Papua in the 1960s. Show your solidarity for the struggle for self-determination and freedom through amplifying Papuan voices.

On the 9th of December we organize READ OUR COLONIAL INHERITANCE with a poetry performance by Julia and Robinson Jouwe.

Julia and Robinson share their story, how they connect with who they are, where they come from, and the significance of their story. Through music and storytelling, they pay tribute to their ancestors, both from the Papua community and the Queer community.

Beyond Walls Lecture at Rotterdamse Academie van Bouwkunst - Beyond Walls was invited by Rotterdamse Academie van Bouwkunst to give a lecture related to their project Decolonisation of the Palace. This lecture is co-organised with Jate Bleeker and Wouter Pocornie, tutors in the studio Dekolonisatie van het Paleis (Decolonisation of the Palace)

Beyond Walls explores the intertwined histories shaped by the impact of colonization and imperialism on peoples, land and cultures. Agency, co-creation, reciprocity, relation building and empowerment form core pillars of Beyond Walls’ approach.

As a diasporic collective situated in the Netherlands, Beyond Walls collaborates with both institutions and communities to amplify marginalized stories beyond dominant narratives. They curate through a diasporic lens and connect this positionality to the bigger story of resisting colonial erasures through research, storytelling and art.

On 14 September 2023 Beyond Walls, BUROBRAAK, Van Gisteren and artists Fre Calmes, Nicky Saliha, Jerrold Saija and Gigi van Grevenbroek launched OOSTCAST - Straatnamen Indische Buurt.

Javastraat, Ambonplein, Sumatraplantsoen. These are just a few examples of street names in the ‘Indische Buurt’ in Amsterdam East. But did you know that they refer to an archipelago that is roughly 46 times the size of the Netherlands?

The Indische Buurt is home to numerous street names that are named after islands and regions in and around Indonesia. These names were given in the early 20th century when Indonesia was still under Dutch colonial occupation, known as the Dutch East Indies. Some of the street names still retain their colonial names. For instance, the island of Celebes is actually named Sulawesi, and the capital of Indonesia is no longer Batavia but Jakarta. This archipelago has a rich history with many cultures, languages, and ways of life. Long before the arrival of the Dutch and other European colonial powers, societies with Kingdoms and Sultanates thrived, global trade and cultural exchange flourished.

What are the stories behind these street names we all move through daily? Find out through the Walking Tour, an exhibition and podcast! Go to OOSCAST.

The short films from the poetry film series 'Read Our Colonial Heritage,' featuring Joshua Timisela, Manuwi C. Tokai, Kevin Groen and Nisrine Mbarki, are now online from August 31st! Check out our special page with all the films and more background info.

LECTURE PERFORMANCE BY BEYOND WALLS
20 AUGUST TARRAWARRA MUSEUM OF ART, HEALESVILLE

Beyond Walls is invited to give a performance lecture at TarraWarra Museum of Art, Healesville (Melbourne), Australia. We are excited and honored to present ‘REMEMBER THE SOIL: Diasporic Perspectives on Soils’ A lecture-performance by Beyond Walls . With Glenda Pattipeilohy, Jeremy Flohr, Suzanne Rastovac and Armando Ello.

Though our historical and contemporary trajectories may differ, coloniality and modernity have disrupted humans’ connection to soils. Yet, it is not lost, erased or forgotten, unless we stop remembering who we are.

Commencing with REMEMBER THE SOIL at TarraWarra Museum of Art, Beyond Walls will unfold their practice as a diasporic collective situated in the Netherlands, collaborating with both institutions and communities. The Amsterdam-based collective shares their perspectives on soils through a diasporic lens and connects their positionality to the bigger story of resisting colonial erasures through research, storytelling and art. By delving into their individual as well as collective connections to soils and fostering active participation, Beyond Walls aims to connect to peoples and their stories in Australia.

Other speakers are Charles Esche, Director, Van Abbemuseum, Eindhoven, the Netherlands; and Dr Victoria Lynn, Director, TarraWarra Museum of Art; and Dr Michelle Antoinette, Senior Lecturer and Researcher at Monash University.

On 7 July 2023, Dr. Tamara Soukotta defended her thesis on segregation and relational peacebuilding in Ambon with succes. As Beyond Walls we are proud to have Dr. Tamara as our board member and congratulate her with her succes!

In her thesis, Tamara Soukotta argues that (religious) segregation in Ambon put in place under the Dutch colonial administration and is sustained-maintained throughout the (post)colonial history of Ambon to the present time is coloniality of power manifested.

Nonetheless, relational peacebuilding-cultivating as practised by peace initiatives in Ambon has been the way to recover what was erased by coloniality. In other words, relational peacebuilding in Ambon is decoloniality in praxis.