Close Up 9.4 Expo: Not My Knowledge
A collaboration between VOX-POP’s Close-Up team and Allard Pierson Special Collections
- Start date
- 11 June 2026
- End date
- 2 July 2026
- Location
- BG 3
- Room
- VOX-POP
From 11 June to 2 July, VOX-POP will be transformed into a space for reflecting on the concept of knowledge. Not My Knowledge is an exhibition hosted by the Close Up team in collaboration with Allard Pierson – it responds curatorially to Allard Pierson’s exhibition Not My Soul: On Slavery, Law and Freedom.
As members of the university community, we aim to challenge how material culture is studied and taught, and what is recognised and perceived as valid knowledge. Not My Knowledge explores how academic heritage institutions can make room for marginalised voices when exhibiting collections shaped by colonial histories.
We step away from Eurocentric narratives on colonialism and move towards five artists and collectives who engage with different ways of knowing through non-academic perspectives and a wide range of materials and media
Not My Knowledge questions the forces that determine which forms of knowledge are presented in academic heritage institutes, while also acknowledging our own role within these structures.
The exhibition will be opened officially on June 11 by means of a program and July 2 closed by a festive finissage. Information about these programs will follow shortly – don’t forget to add these dates to your calendars!
Opening programme: 11 June
The opening programme will take place on 11 June from 17:00-19:00 in VOX-POP. More details about the programme will be announced soon.
Artists
In my artistic practice, I explore how colonial histories continue to shape contemporary forms of representation, identity, and social structures. I aim to uncover hidden narratives, question historical and cultural misrepresentations, and create counter-narratives. Themes such as racism, gender, and collective memory frequently emerge in my work. As a person of colour, I find it essential to make our lived experiences visible, often drawing from my Surinamese-Dutch background.
Lana Renfrum began ballet at the age of four and attended the preparatory programme at ArtEZ Dance Academy from ages ten to seventeen. At nineteen, she obtained her Bachelor’s degree in Dance at École Atelier Rudra Béjart, where she trained intensively in classical ballet and Graham technique. She later danced with Ballet Preljocaj Junior in Aix-en-Provence. Today, Lana works as a freelance dancer, including with Reframing Herstory Art Foundation, and as a curator at the National Slavery Museum.
Nyata Collective consists of Asha Victoria and Amber Zara van den Pangaard, multidisciplinary artists based in Arnhem and Rotterdam. Both graduated from Graphic Design at ArtEZ Arnhem in July 2025. Through collaborative textile processes, they explore social topics and embodied forms of knowledge, including heritage, memory, dreams, and daily experience. Their practice turns personal stories into interwoven threads of knowledge, centring community building and reciprocity.
I am Gabriela Akyea a Ghanaian-Dutch self taught artist, creative freelancer and educator working at the intersection of art, education, and social impact. Based in Amsterdam Zuidoost, I create and teach with a focus on identity, connection, and the themes of life. In my studio and in my workshops from my project Our Treasures I use art to explore questions that connect us at the core. Where I may see a full stop, someone else might see a comma or an exclamation mark, adding to the story. That is where my work lives: creating space for different perspectives to exist side by side, where dialogue can naturally unfold.
Mirjam Linschooten is a Dutch visual artist based in Amsterdam. Her multidisciplinary practice spans publication, film, installation, photography, collage, and writing. Often working collaboratively, she explores the visible and hidden legacies of colonial histories. By questioning how memory and history are shaped, her work offers alternative viewpoints, counter-narratives, and space for critical reflection. Her work has been exhibited internationally at institutions including CBK Zuidoost (Amsterdam), Rijksmuseum van Oudheden (Leiden), De Appel (Amsterdam), Stroom Den Haag, Cemeti Institute for Art and Society (Yogyakarta), and the Art Gallery of Ontario (Toronto). She holds an MA from the Dutch Art Institute and a BFA from the Gerrit Rietveld Academy.