A Conversation with the Past for the Future is a ‘mobile monument’ that expands over the course of four years with stories from the Sites of Memory performances. It is an impressive installation of portraits printed on flags and audio recordings that invites the public to reflect on personal and historical stories about the colonial and slavery past. The installation is a collaboration between Sites of Memory, visual artist Judith Westerveld and poet/music producer Jörgen Gario.

The idea for A Conversation with the Past for the Future originated in 2022. During the performance Returning the Gaze artist Judith Westerveld created an installation of 130 portraits, printed on fabric and scattered across Abdijplein in Middelburg. This commemorative installation honored the memory of 130 enslaved men, women, and children from Angola who were forced to be present there in 1596. Since no names or images of them have survived, silhouettes were used to give them a face after all. At the end of the performance, the audience was invited to hang up a portrait themselves and thus participate in the commemorative ritual. The power and form of the work inspired further artistic development: the concept evolved into a performance installation.

The first edition of A Conversation with the Past for the Future was presented in Groningen. The portraits and stories were based on the performance Forget to Remember and a series of workshops. During the workshops, Judith Westerveld, Jörgen Gario, and choreographer Tara Salahshor (of X_YUSUF_BOSS) worked with a group of professional and semi-professional artists. Together, they explored their personal stories as well as the underrepresented histories of colonialism and slavery.  

The next editions will be on view from 1- 7 October 2026 in Maastricht, in collaboration with De Nederlandse Dansdagen and the Bonnefantenmuseum, and from 15 October 2026 in Amsterdam at the Amsterdam Museum in Huis Willet-Holthuysen.