Angisa talk

Denzel Veerkamp is a socio-culturally oriented designer who engages with topics such as bicultural identity and transgenerational history. Veerkamp, born in Amsterdam to a Dutch mother and a Surinamese father, intricately weaves collective suffering from Dutch-Surinamese history with his own confrontations. His upcycling design practice intertwines storytelling, traditional Surinamese costumes, adventurous patchworks, textile contrasts, and playful volumes. Veerkamp challenges Eurocentric approaches, striving to unlearn imposed narratives and replace them with alternative realities. Through his work, he critiques Western, capitalist fashion systems, embracing discomfort, openness, interaction, and innovation in his transformative storytelling.

Anouk Vasilda
To address a confused experience of her Surinamese identity, Anouk Vasilda navigates through personal and national archives. She extracts images from their original context and redirects them. Her work floats between personal experiences and collective memory, revealing the way the past seeps into the present. With her film "Saminah," Vasilda won the Carat Lucas Gassel Prize in 2023. In it, she showcases family documents and vintage footage from Suriname and Indonesia, emphasizing the struggle of discovery.

Cheraine Baljé is a textile artist from the vibrant city of Rotterdam. With a passion for contemporary art and a deep appreciation for traditional techniques, she seamlessly combines the old with the new, resulting in captivating and thought-provoking creations. Baljé's artistic journey began at a young age, influenced by her grandmother's knitting, sewing, and other textile uses. Inspired by the possibilities textiles offered, she quickly immersed herself in the world of fabric and thread. Her contemporary artworks serve as a bridge between the past and the present. Through her creations, she explores themes such as identity, memory, and cultural heritage, offering viewers a glimpse into the complexity of human experiences.

Jane Stjeward-Schubert is an expert in koto and angisa, a milliner, and co-founder of Stichting Tailors & Wearers. She inherited her interest in fashion and clothing from her mother, who was a home seamstress. After emigrating from Suriname in 1972, she specialized further in custom-made clothing. Her love for Surinamese cultural heritage and her fashion background drove her to learn everything about the koto and the angisa. Wherever possible, Jane contributes to sharing the history of the angisa and teaching others the technique of folding this unique headscarf. Tailors and Wearers view Afro-Surinamese attire through the lens of craftsmanship, anthropology, and photography. We combine our efforts to preserve, develop, and exchange knowledge about Afro-Surinamese attire.

Michelle Piergoelam is an art photographer who graduated from the Royal Academy of Art in The Hague. She creates visual stories based on cultural myths, dreams, and memories. Despite her Surinamese background, she knew little about the country. Her curiosity to learn more led her to research cultural stories, fairy tales, and myths. She consciously uses indigenous legends, geography, and anthropology to preserve and share underexposed parts of history. She explores various photographic techniques and uses elements of the night as a form. Details become the subject, and small gestures speak out as the flash light falls upon them.

Migaisa Poeketi (moderator) works as a self-employed professional at various organizations as a communication professional. Her constant curiosity about her roots has made topics like colonialism, slavery, and their legacy play a significant role in her work. As a freelancer, she is involved in themes related to diversity and inclusion. She has a broad interest in history, art, culture, and social issues.