Opening ‘History is His Story’
‘History is His Story’ is an international group exhibition that expands on the mythical world as described by the musician, poet and visionair, Sun Ra
Dean Bowen
Crystal Z Campbell
Em’kal Eyongakpa
Charl Landvreugd
Arna Mačkić
Sulaïman Majali
Pieter Paul Pothoven
Pamela Phatsimo Sunstrum
Jaro Varga
Exhibition design: Studio L A
they say that history repeats itself
but history is only his story
you haven’t heard my story yet
my story is different from his story
my story is not part of history
because history repeats itself
but my story is endless it never repeats itself
why should it?
– Sun Ra
“History is His Story” is a group exhibition that expands on the mythical world as described by the musician, poet and visionair, Sun Ra. At a young age, he became fascinated by the scientific research of Cheikh Anta Diop: one of the founders of Pan-Africanism, scientist, linguist and politician, who believed he could prove that the Egyptians were black. That there were black thinkers and rulers at the fundament of civilization encouraged Sun Ra – who was born Herman Blount but legally changed his name to Le Sony’r Ra in 1952 — thus naming himself after the Egyptian sun god Ra – to explore cultural heritage. Within the domain of art, performance and music – Sun Ra created a means for people to take possession of a more fair narrative in history and subsequently a future in society. For Sun Ra, history, as it was commonly portrayed in Western cultures, was a lie, an illusion used to exert power over other cultures. He wanted to offer an alternative conception of history and therefore focused on myth. He argued that the Afro-American community needed a ‘mythocracy’ rather than a democracy, that an alternative historical narrative for Afro-Americans might be found in myth. He employed myth to escape western rational thought offering instead a more holistic, magical world view. ‘History is His Story’ reacts to social and political phenomena and allows for mythical knowledge to add nuance to history or visualize a more egalitarian future. In ‘History is His Story’ artists seek an in-between- space: a place of visual language without beginning and end. The ancient past and the distant future unite in a temporary new world. The artists have a shared interest in making new mythologies and reinterpreting those that already exist. More than looking into the future, they orient themselves on the methodology of Sun Ra – the questioning of heritage and its reinterpretation.
Opening February 15, 20:00 – 23.00
‘History is His Story’ is an international group exhibition that expands on the mythical world as described by the musician, poet and visionair, Sun Ra
Nice workshop on Wednesday afternoon, especially for Verwende Nesten.
Just like Sun Ra, philosopher Clara Bolle has a love for mythology. In this lecture she discusses the role and function of mythology from a Western philosophical perspective. She takes the story of the Odysseus as a guideline.
Verwend Nest en Unheard Kids, gaan samen aan de slag!
Dive into the future is a performance lecture in which Arna Mačkić, whose way of thinking and working is formed by Sun Ra, takes you on a journey through his inspiring body of thought.
During Hoogtij #56 the exhibition History is His Story is open for visitors. At 20.00 pm the performance lecture Dive into the Future takes place.
Doe mee met de Museumnacht Kids op 16 maart 2019. Om een toffe presentatie neer te zetten repeteren we al op zaterdag 9 maart.
Doe een keer per maand mee aan een leuke workshop op woensdagmiddag, speciaal voor Verwende Nesten.
Binnen het raamwerk van Sun Ra’s nalatenschap zullen 3 dichters, 2 acteurs 1 beeldend kunstenaar en 1 muzikant tijdens MisterRa, MisterRy, MisterMisery een hommage brengen en voortbouwen op het gedachtengoed van Sun Ra.
During ‘History is His Story’ Nest celebrates Keti Koti in collaboration with the Keti Koti Table Foundation and visual artist Yair Callender in which we reflect on the abolition of slavery on 1 July 1863 and its consequences in today’s society.
An educational experiment where photography students of The American School of the Hague were guided within their artistic process by artists Gino Anthonisse, Anouk van Klaveren, Dewi Bekker.
Sun Ra is one of the greatest composers of free/improjazz known in the history of music. He was born in Alabama as Herman ‘Sonny’ Poole Blount and stated that he was of the Angels Breed, not of Earth, but of Saturn. He developed his own cosmic style and lyrical poetry, with characteristics of African and […]