My series Herinneringen aan Zwarte Piet (Recollections of Black Pete) (2014-2023) is part of the exhibition Nederland, word beter! (the Netherlands, be better!).

An exhibition by the Amsterdam Museum and the foundation Nederland Wordt Beter, hosted by Beautiful Distress, NDSM Amsterdam.

Between 2014 en 2023 I photographed the Sinterklaas events in the Netherlands. It began with a series of portraits, shot on black and white negatives. With the ethnographic photography of the 19th and 20th centuries in mind, I documented this folkloric celebration in the delta of Northwest-Europe. An invitation to look at it from a distance. In the following years I photographed parades, the social conflict and the changes. The photos place black pete in the past tense. Yet exactly how far in the past is not immediately apparent.

 

Recollections of Black Pete (2014-2023)

My film Beursplein (2014) as part of a multi-screen installation. I shot this film in Amsterdam at one of the first demonstrations of Kick Out Zwarte Piet.

Photos by Françoise Bolechowski

amsterdammuseum.nl/tentoonstelling/nederland-word-beter/238143

01.11.2025