9 November 2024 - 12 January 2025
Majalla's Cloak - Frayed edges of the Leiden Cloth
- Get your tickets online
- Visit the opening during a special Lakenhal Late on 8 November
- Visit the performance on 8 December
Museum De Lakenhal presents Majalla's Cloak from 9 November 9 2024 to 12 January 2025. This participatory art project explores the connections between the historic Leiden cloth industry and the slave trade. Especially for this project, artist Sarah van Lamsweerde (NL/BE) collaborates with heritage specialist and performer Alicia Hoost (NL/SU), theater maker and voice performer Esther Mugambi (AU/KE), visual artist Eugenie Boon (NL/CW) and textile artist and project coordinator Claire Zandvliet (NL).
MAJALLA
The name Majalla refers to an enslaved boy mentioned in the correspondence regarding Daniel van Eijs, an 18th-century Leiden cloth merchant and later plantation owner. Historian Sjoerd Ramackers discovered this tragic story while researching Leiden's role in colonial history. The name Majalla symbolizes the countless lives lost on Van Eijs's plantations in Berbice (present-day Guyana), where the average life span of enslaved people was only eight years.
FREEDOM CLOAK
Inspired by stories of resistance to slavery, Hoost and Van Lamsweerde decided to posthumously create a freedom cloak for Majalla and his peers. A symbol of hope and dignity, this cloak represents how Majalla would free himself from a world of inhumane exploitation.
UNRAVELING SESSIONS
For this installation, the artists commissioned a new fabric to be woven, inspired by historical research. This fabric was then unraveled during discussion sessions with a wide range of people from Leiden and the surrounding area. The artists also interviewed people with Surinamese and Caribbean roots. During these ‘unravelling sessions’, the participants shared stories, experiences and songs about colonialism and slavery. The unravelled textiles were then incorporated into an installation of tactile sculptures and the stories woven into songs.
This presentation is accessible to those with and without visual impairments. Download the Lakenhal app and scan the qr codes for additional assistance. You can recognize the qr codes by the guiding tiles on the floor. With a Public Transport Companion Card or GPK Passengers Card, you may bring a companion for free. Interpreters on duty and registered assistance dogs are also welcome free of charge. Read more about the accessibility in the museum.
"Show me your faults, oh cloth
Your tears are to be torn
Your seams hide stories
My hands will pull your threads
Show me your faults,
oh cloth"
PRESENTATION FINAL RESULT & Lakenhal Late
The unraveled textiles from these sessions will be assembled into tactile sculptures by artist Eugenie Boon; the stories will be woven into songs. The results will come together in an installation and a series of performances. The installation will be on view at Museum De Lakenhal from 9 November 2024 through 12 January 2025. The next performance will take place on Sunday 8 December 2024.
This project is made possible by Sarah van Lamsweerde, Alicia Hoost, Esther Mugambi, Eugenie Boon, Claire Zandvliet, Coöperatie Leidse Weverij, Fonds voor Cultuurparticipatie and Mondriaan Fonds.
Thanks to Sara Wieman and her research on historical Leids fustein in reconstructing the fabric for Majalla's Mantle.