Last Sunday, we celebrated the opening of “In the vacuum, we felt air” and the finissage of “The hero, the villain, and the truth – Cancellation or redemption?” with Folkert De Jong.

The opening of “In the vacuum, we felt air“ started with welcoming words by our director Rabiaâ Benlahbib in the poterne on the fort island. She introduced some of the central themes behind the exhibition that span community, collectivity, and belonging but also isolation and alienation. Visitors then walked through the rooms of the historic fort now filled with sculptures and video installations addressing multifaceted topics including community organising, labour under capitalism, feminist struggles for liberation, embodying other-than-human forms of life, and more. Two of the partaking artists Cristina Lavosi & Arjun Das were present, and went into conversation with the visitors about their work.

The crowd then made their way down to the hangar to partake in the finissage of the exhibition of Folkert de Jong. Here, the visitors had one last chance to experience the theatrical exhibition displaying his renowned sculptures accompanied by specially created audio narrations and lighting. In the back of the hangar, Rabiaâ & Folkert de Jong held a conversation about the future experimental collaboration that will develop between Kunstfort and the artist, amongst other topics.

To top it all off, the day ended with some food provided by Fort5, the restaurant located on the island, and a specially made drink from Suriname called Dawet. Its white pink colour was reminiscent of the recognizable aesthetics of Folkert de Jong’s styrofoam statues.

The exhibition programme “In the vacuum, we felt air” is open until 22 September 2024. In the coming months we will be hosting specific community events in connection to the exhibition theme, such as a picking walk & home-cheese making sessions. We hope to see you here with us!