Book launch: Kas di Shon with Sarmad PlatformBook launch: Kas di Shon with Sarmad Platform

At the institute’s invitation, artist, researcher and filmmaker Miguel Peres dos Santos has written a critical analysis of the ways in which architecture is inextricably linked to the legacy of colonial thought and the frameworks that have literally and figuratively given shape to that thought over time. Peres dos Santos draws inspiration from the Nieuwe Instituut building, designed by Jo Coenen in 1992 for what was then the Netherlands Architecture Institute (NAi). He reflects on the persistence of institutional power structures in Europe and links them to the colonial architecture of the time of slavery in Curaçao. Sarmad Platform compiled the trilingual book (English, Dutch and Papiamento), supplementing the text with notes and images.

After the official launch of the book, Peres dos Santos and the other guests will discuss power structures in contemporary cultural institutions, especially in the field of architecture. Power struggles, harmful behaviour and intense work pressure are, unfortunately, the order of the day there too. But while the media and film sectors are making progress in tackling these issues, helped by whistleblowers and boycotts, the fields of culture and architecture seem to remain eerily silent.