Eye(s) Open
New Perspectives on Colonial Film Heritage
In the exhibition Eye(s) Open, eleven artists respond to Eye’s collection of some 2,000 colonial-era films from formerly occupied regions in Indonesia and Suriname.
For the exhibition, the artists have created ten new works based on this archival material. In doing so, they expose colonial structures and practices and question the role of the camera in perpetuating power. By rereading archival footage, reworking it with AI, or combining it with new narratives, they open up new ways of engaging with this material.
During this interactive guided tour, students, together with a film educator, take a critical look at the artworks and the archival films from which they originate. They explore how artists work with historical material and how meaning can shift when images are revisited or placed in a different context.
Through discussion and short assignments, students explore questions such as:
- Who created this image?
- What story is being told?
- What remains outside the frame?
In this way, students discover that images are never neutral. They are invited to reflect on a pressing contemporary question: how do we engage today with film images that originate from a colonial history?
This guided tour connects with the Dutch secondary school curriculum, including Kunst Algemeen and CKV, as well as subjects such as history, media, and culture. For MBO and HBO students, the content and depth of the tour are adapted to their level.
