Exhibition links Amsterdam canal house to slavery in Suriname
Huis Willet-Holthuysen highlights former residents’ financing of plantations and the people who experienced its consequences.
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The exhibition Plantage aan de gracht opened at Huis Willet-Holthuysen on Friday. Historical documents, contemporary art and an audio tour connect the Amsterdam property with the colonial plantation economy in Suriname.
The exhibition centres on a concrete connection between a house in Amsterdam and a plantation overseas. According to the Amsterdam Museum, money was made from the colonial plantation economy from this property in the eighteenth century. The display follows both former residents who played a financial role in that economy and people who were enslaved on the Jagtlust plantation. The museum announced the opening on 16 October, and AT5 reported it.
Two former residents take centre stage: banker Willem Gideon Deutz and merchant Fredrik Berewout. The museum describes how Deutz developed a credit arrangement from the house in which plantations and enslaved people served as collateral. Berewout owned several plantations, including Jagtlust in Suriname. The exhibition thus addresses different forms of involvement: financing and ownership were each part of the economy on which the plantations depended.
The display is based on historical research by museum curator Thijs Boers. According to the museum, that research brought back to light the names of 125 people who were enslaved on Jagtlust in 1786. In the records, they were documented primarily as property. The exhibition uses those archives to make their presence and history visible, alongside the financial documents of those who profited from the system.
That distinction matters for how visitors can read the sources. A document about a loan provides information about the interests of financiers; a register of people shows how the plantation administration classified them. The exhibition brings such documents together. In doing so, the museum connects financial decision-making on the canal with the people in Suriname whom those decisions concerned.
Alongside historical items, there are contemporary artworks. In the garden stands A Conversation with the Past for the Future by Sites of Memory, created with Judith Westerveld and Jörgen Gario. The installation combines portraits on flags with sound. White Elephant by Natasja Kensmil is also part of the exhibition. These works offer artistic reflection on the history; their function differs from that of the archival documents on display.
Actress and presenter Dolores Leeuwin provides the audio tour. According to the museum, she is a descendant of a woman who was enslaved on Jagtlust. Her involvement adds a family connection to the story of the canal house. The Black Achievement Month programme also lists her contribution and the installation in the garden.
According to the museum, Plantage aan de gracht can be visited until 4 April 2027 inclusive. The exhibition is part of a series in which artists and researchers respond to the history and collection of Huis Willet-Holthuysen. This time, colonial flows of money and the human lives connected with them form the starting point.
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The opening falls within the news period and has been confirmed by public sources. Historical findings are clearly presented as results of the museum’s research.
- confirmed The exhibition opened on 16 October 2026 and runs until 4 April 2027 inclusive. — These dates appear on the exhibition page and in the dated opening announcement. source
- confirmed Deutz financed plantations; Berewout owned Jagtlust, among others. — The museum describes their different financial roles, including the collateral arrangement. source
- confirmed The museum connects research by Thijs Boers with 125 enslaved people on Jagtlust in 1786. — Explicitly stated in the announcement about the research and exhibition; attributed as a museum finding. source
- confirmed Sites of Memory, Judith Westerveld, Jörgen Gario and Natasja Kensmil contribute artworks; Dolores Leeuwin provides the audio tour. — The programme description mentions these contributions and Leeuwin’s family connection to Jagtlust. source
- confirmed The exhibition belongs to a series of responses to the history and collection of the house. — The museum describes it as the fifth intervention within this programme. source
Editor's note
The opening and content have been confirmed through the museum and public reporting. The historical research findings have been attributed to the museum; the underlying archival documents have not been independently examined. The article reports on the exhibition and does not evaluate it.Sources
- Vanaf vandaag te zien: tentoonstelling Huis Willet-Holthuysen legt financiering Surinaamse plantages bloot — Amsterdam Museum
- Plantage aan de gracht — Amsterdam Museum
- Tentoonstelling Huis Willet-Holthuysen legt financiering van Surinaamse plantages bloot — AT5
- Tentoonstelling Plantage aan de gracht — Black Achievement Month
More on this in Dutch media
- De Telegraaf — „amsterdam suriname”
- AD — „amsterdam suriname”
- de Volkskrant — „amsterdam suriname”