TDr. Edward Akintola Hubbard is an anthropologist, artist, curator, and co-founder of the Amsterdam-based artists’ collective ‘Darkmatter’. His artistic practice, experimental ethnography, operates at the intersection of contemporary art and social anthropology. He earned his PhD in Anthropology from Harvard University and has taught at the University of the West Indies, Harvard University, New York University, and Utrecht University. His teaching spans anthropology, art theory, cinema, media studies, gender studies, urban studies, Gothic studies, and African diaspora studies. His artistic practice includes ethnographic research, photography, video, installation art, and writing.

Diana Blok grew up in several Latin American countries before settling in Amsterdam in the 1970s. There she began her ongoing exploration of identity. As a self-taught portrait photographer, she initially turned the camera on herself, visualizing myths and dreams and investigating forms of kinship. Her work focuses on people for whom gender, cultural identity, and sexual orientation are fluid.

Orville Breeveld has worked in the international performing arts world for more than twenty-five years. As a guitarist and bandleader, he has toured with Maher Zain, Hüsnü Şenlendirici, Satyakam Mohkamsing, and Karsu Dönmez, and collaborated with various orchestras. Through his Breathing Ensemble, he has created musical tributes to icons from Arab, Surinamese, Indian, Turkish, and Indonesian traditions. He has performed at venues including the North Sea Jazz Festival and appeared in podcasts and keynote concerts. During this symposium, he will perform, among others, Unutama Beni by Afro-Turkish singer Esmeray.

Özkan Gölpinar has curated numerous exhibitions focused on overlooked histories and visual narratives from diaspora communities. From 2015 to 2021, he served on the Dutch Council for Culture. Previously, he worked as an advisor on Media & Culture at Berenschot and as a programme manager at the Mondriaan Fund. He studied Journalism and Film & Television Studies at the Amsterdam University of the Arts and Film & Photography Studies at Leiden University, and worked as a reporter for de Volkskrant, Trouw, and various broadcasters and magazines.

Chris Keulemans is a writer and journalist. He has written for de Volkskrant, Vrij Nederland, and De Groene Amsterdammer among others. He also served as director of the debate centre De Balie and co-founded the cultural centre Tolhuistuin.

Isaiah Lopaz is an artist, writer, and curator from Turtle Island who works in Germany and the Netherlands. In his current practice, he uses his family lineage as a framework to investigate the intersections between histories often considered separate, including the histories of anti-Black racism, colonialism, and the transatlantic slave trade. In 2024, he founded Black Visual Grammar, a mobile cultural programme that explores Black perspectives on a wide range of topics through publicly created collage workshops.

Dr. Nawal Mustafa is Assistant Professor of Black Studies, Critical Race Studies, and Indigenous Studies in the Department of Cultural Studies at the University of Amsterdam. Her work explores the intersections of law, colonialism, slavery, and the regulation of intimacy. In addition to her academic work, she serves as a strategic legal advisor at PILP, a human rights law firm and NGO based in Amsterdam.

Naomie Pieter is a queer and anti-racist activist, performance artist, and choreographer working at the intersection of art, activism, and Afro-spirituality. Her work is rooted in public participation and ritual transformation. She is the founder of the queer Caribbean dancehall club night and cultural platform Pon Di Pride as well as Black Pride NL She also served as media spokesperson for KOZP and coined the name ‘Feminist March’ the largest feminist march in the Netherlands. She has received awards including the Roze Lieverdje and the Pax Dove, and was named a Pride Icon by Attitude in 2023.

Ahmet Polat is known for his deeply human perspective on the world and his talent for creating stories that resonate across different layers of society. He combines twenty-five years of experience in photography, art, and education through work across multiple media, including his current role as editor-in-chief at broadcaster Human, his curatorial collaborations with Foam Amsterdam, and his recurring appearances as a specialist on television programmes such as Buitenhof. His versatility is also evident in his debut as a film director with the documentary ‘I Am a Bastard’ (‘Ik ben een Bastaard’, NTR, 2022) and as a theatre maker with More Than 1,000 Words in collaboration with Het Zuidelijk Toneel.

Sai Rodrigues is a self-taught artist and illustrator. For ‘This Morning, This Evening, So Soon – Turkey Saved My Life,’ he created a graphic novel inspired by the monologues from ‘In This Silence’ by Özkan Gölpinar, rendered in a film noir aesthetic. His work connects Baldwin’s moral and existential quest with themes of migration, isolation, and personal freedom. Rodrigues has previously exhibited at 38CC in Delft.

Beldan Sezen is an artist and writer who holds an M.A. in Political Science. Ethnically Turkish, born in Germany, and living between the Netherlands and the United States, she approaches society from multiple perspectives. Her artists’ books are held in both private and institutional collections. As a curator, she is part of the Booklyn Artists Alliance She is also co-founder of Cypher, a digital comics magazine highlighting radical lives and the dangerous work of human rights defenders. Her minimalist installations and artists’ books examine war, imprisonment, exile, and human resilience.


Heritage on the Table: Surinamese Dishes from the Maroon Tradition and Storytelling by Sisa Events.
During this afternoon, Stichting Sisa Events brings the Maroon kitchen to the table—not only to be tasted, but also to be listened to, shared, and remembered. In the Maroon tradition, food tells a story. Dishes such as Afiingi Baka Bolon, and Pinda Baafu carry histories of survival, freedom, care, and community. They recall the experiences of Maroons who freed themselves from slavery and built new communities in freedom.

With ‘Heritage on the Table,’ Sisa Events invites visitors to reflect through taste and storytelling on colonialism, slavery, marronage, and what this history still means today. This contribution also connects directly to Baldwin’s legacy: daring to face the truth, creating space for voices that have too often gone unheard, and passing on stories that must not be lost.