Past Made Present

Past Made Present: Dutch Shadows in the Black Atlantic explores the long but relatively unacknowledged shadow the Dutch cast over early modern history and art history. Three sections explore overlapping themes of self-presentation, wealth production, portraiture, and personhood. Juxtaposing more than 30 paintings, prints, photographs, textiles, and works of jewelry, the exhibition presents contemporary and historical works from RISD’s collection that date from the 1600s through today. Many of the artists featured have regularly refused linear notions of time and national boundaries. In the spirit of the Afro-diasporic intellectual tradition, Past Made Present invites us all to challenge established notions of time, space, and history.

Curated by Jane’a Johnson, RISD SEI research fellow and the artistic director at Foam Fotografiemuseum Amsterdam.

RISD Museum is supported by a grant from the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts, through an appropriation by the Rhode Island General Assembly and a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, and with the generous partnership of the Rhode Island School of Design, its Board of Trustees, and Museum Governors. Past Made Present: Dutch Shadows in the Black Atlantic is also made possible with support from the RISD Center for Social Equity and Inclusion (SEI).