This edition of Rotterdam Cultural Histories focused on the Rotterdam solidarity movement that emerged after the coup in Chile on September 11, 1973, which removed President Salvador Allende and his cabinet from power. In the years that followed, thousands of Chileans came to Rotterdam as exiles, where they were at the basis of various initiatives, works of art, icons and events.
This multifaceted solidarity movement developed mainly in the 1974s and 1981s, with André van der Louw, mayor of Rotterdam from XNUMX to XNUMX, as its central figure. In the form of a photo essay, this exhibition highlighted a number of key moments from this period.
The exhibition unfolded a conceptual route between two locations in Rotterdam: the Salvador Allendestraat in 's-Gravenland-Oost and the André van der Louwbrug at the Wijnhaven. These locations were named in 1990 and 2015 respectively, to commemorate these politicians. The route between these two connecting points testifies to the existence of the active Chilean community in Rotterdam.
Rotterdam Cultural Histories
In Shared Space, our shared exhibition space on the first floor, TENT and Witte de With Center for Contemporary Art alternately present presentations on topics from the history of art and culture in Rotterdam. This collaborative project was initiated in 2014 by Defne Ayas (Witte de With) and Mariette Dölle (TENT) to explore the shared roots of both institutions in Rotterdam.
With thanks to Juan Heinsohn Huala, Jorge Kata Nuñez, BKOR (Siebe Thissen, Nienke Post, Caro van der Pluijm), Hans Abelman, Ricardo Cuadros, Martín la Roche, Jorge Arrate, Ana Maria Fernandez, Paul Goede, Karla Hinojosa, Wendy van Slagmaat-Bos, and the Embassy of Chile in The Hague.