Archives at Risk: Carlien MacnackArchives at Risk: Carlien Macnack

Over the decades, Carlien Macnack has collected an enormous variety of angisas. The different types of textiles and folding and binding techniques show how rich the tradition of this Afro-Surinamese headdress is. The pleated headscarf is recognised as cultural heritage, but unless collections such as Macnack’s are preserved as a matter of policy, much cultural-historical knowledge – and a source of inspiration for future generations – is in danger of being lost.

More than just a fashion accessory, the angisa is a means of communication. Traditionally, each way of folding, tying and wearing the headdress has its own name and meaning. The tradition of tying the angisa dates back to the 19th century and has been passed on from generation to generation ever since. Carlien Macnack, born in Paramaribo in 1950, is an expert in this field. Since the 1980s, she has been folding and collecting many forms and variations herself, building up an extensive archive in the process. By looking at the traditions and customs of the past, Macnack finds inspiration for making new angisas. She has already given several workshops at the Nieuwe Instituut.

Around the time of Suriname’s declaration of independence in 1975, many Surinamese people came to the Netherlands. They brought their history, culture and traditions with them. Since then, women from the Afro-Surinamese community have had a distinctive place in the shared cultural history in the Netherlands, including as kotomisi. The traditional costume of the kotomisi, or ‘women who wear a koto’, consists of the dress of the same name and the angisa. Special variations are worn on special occasions such as birthdays, funerals and cultural gatherings.

For many of the Afro-Surinamese women in the Netherlands, traditional dress still represents a celebration of solidarity, memories and their origins. In order to keep this tradition alive in the Netherlands, the Surinamese women’s foundation Surinaamse Vrouwen Bijlmermeer (SVB) nominated the making of the koto and the tying of the angisa as cultural heritage. Both have been on the Dutch list of intangible cultural heritage since 21 June 2014.

In 2021, the organisations that take care of design heritage in the Netherlands joined forces to form the Network Archives Design and Digital Culture (NADD). Knowledge about archiving is shared within this network, and design archives are being made more visible and also more accessible through the development of a digital infrastructure. The aim is twofold: to demonstrate the importance of this heritage for society, and to find a sustainable solution for the preservation and management of the archives.

NADD consists of 45 partners: large and small heritage institutions, designers, professional organisations, educational institutions and design experts.

Archives at Risk: Seeking Shelter was curated by Annemartine van Kesteren (design curator at Boijmans Van Beuningen) and designed by spatial designer Ben Shamier. The installation will be shown at different locations of the network partners, each of which will showcase a different archive in danger of being lost.