Patricia Kaersenhout

Born in the Netherlands but a descendant from Surinamese parents, visual artist / activist / womanist Patricia Kaersenhout investigates her Surinamese background in relation to her upbringing in a Western European culture. The political thread in her work raises questions about the African Diaspora’s movements and its relation to feminism, sexuality, racism and the history of slavery. She considers her art practice to be a social one. With her projects she empowers (young) men and women of colour. “Proud Rebels” is a project about an important black feminist wave which took place in the 80s and was funded by CBK Zuidoost and Amsterdam Fund for the arts. In 2015 she went to Dakar invited by the Dutch embassy to do a preventive project on female trafficking. She is a regular lecturer at the Decolonial Summer School in Middelburg, the Black Summer School in Amsterdam and at BE.BOP (Black Europe Body Politics). At the island Gorée, Senegal she will shoot a short film titled “Returning the Soul of Salt” inspired by a legend of enslaved people refraining from eating salt in order to become lighter, so they could fly back to Africa. Currently she is working on a community project quoting “The Dinner Party” by Judy Chicago.

As of March 2017