On the 14th of February, we visited Maria Luigia Gioffrè‘s collaborative research workshop “WAITING WARS,” inspired by soldiers waiting for the war to reach their door at the Kunstfort Vijfhuizen. Participants from diverse backgrounds, including students, artists, and staff from Kunstfort Vijfhuizen and H401, joined the workshop. Maria Luigia guided us through the day, which was split into two parts: starting with an open conversation about our associations with the concept of ‘waiting for war,’ followed by a physical exercise where we embodied those feelings and emotions.
These explorations all came together and helped shape Maria’s performance on February the 20th. In a dimly lit, red-tinted room, two figures moved slowly to a Calabrian lullaby, music from Maria’s home region. The room was filled with a sense of anticipation, as if something were about to shift. Yet, the figures continued their slow, steady movements, while the audience remained passive observers, much like soldiers once did in a similar bunker, waiting for the unknown. Afterwards, visitors shared their observations and impressions. The performance sparked some personal stories about war, conflict and broader reflections, much like in the first workshop. The exchange of thoughts and emotions enriched the experience.
Next was “Heling!”, a text-based artwork concept by Carlos Noronha Feio exploring cultural creolisation, which focuses on the blending and transforming of cultures and languages through migration, trade, and colonial histories. The piece uses tulips to form the word, how tulips, though not native to the Netherlands, have become deeply associated with the country. Originally from Central Asia, tulips arrived in the Netherlands through trade and colonial expansion. This thought-provoking work sparked meaningful and confrontational conversations on identity, migration, and cultural exchange, highlighting the ways in which colonial history continues to affect our present and future.
These collaborative, dialogue-focused artworks are an essential first step in the artists’ creative journey within this project, establishing a foundation for further exploration of colonial histories, cultural identities, and collective memory. By encouraging open conversation and creative exchange, they pave the way for impactful artistic work that will offer fresh perspectives and challenge how we engage with the past. Maria Luigia’s and Carlos’ CDCD artistic journey and trajectory, which has just started in The Netherlands, will culminate in Xarkis in 2026 with a multi-residency with all the CDCD artists and the final arts festival.
We look forward to our continued collaboration and seeing how these inspiring projects develop!
March 2025 – Britt van Harmelen, intern at H401 BA student Reinwardt Academy.
When I first saw the open call, it felt like a dream! As an artist who is passionate about shedding light on the impact of colonial legacies on contemporary society, this programme fits perfectly with my research and artistic practice. I believe it is crucial to continually learn and acquire new knowledge, and this opportunity offers that. 
CONTESTED DESIRES: Constructive Dialogues is an EU-funded project
On the night of 18 to 19 February, the great scholar Jan Assmann died in Constance on lake Constance (Germany) at the age of 85. The Egyptologist, archaeologist, religious scholar and cultural theorist had spent fifty rich years as a researcher and university lecturer in Heidelberg (Chair of Egyptology from 1976 to 2003) and, after his retirement, as Honorary Professor of General Cultural Studies and Theory of Religion in Constance together with his wife Aleida, an English scholar at the University of Constance and cultural theorist, creating approaches to a new cultural theory, summarised under the term “cultural memory”. Their impact went far beyond the sciences, continuing in the wider public sphere to this day: a rare case in the humanities.
Studies in Black and White is een meerjarig project van Creative Court in samenwerking met Giselle Vegter / Hotel Eldorado, dat bestaat uit een traject van participatief artistiek onderzoek. De pilootafleveringen vinden plaats in samenwerking met H401 en als onderdeel van het 
A book publication edited by Ernst van Alphen for the occasion of the programme 
Since the MeToo movement, masculine exercise of power, and sexual abuse have been widely brought under close scrutiny. The focus on ‘toxic’ masculinity impacts our perception of male sexuality, which substantially influences the self-image and self-esteem of men. Men are being shamed by others for their transgressive and contemptuous attitudes; and they feel intrinsically ashamed of their own wrong-doings or of the virulent patterns and traditions of Western manhood. This book explores both positions. It looks at the representation of male sexuality, nudity, fatherhood, male violence, rape, fascism and virility, men and war. It shows works of art that deal with the intricacies and contradictions of these socio-cultural constructs and realities. Shame! and Masculinity is hybrid in terms of genre, combining scholarly essays with short stories, personal testimonies, and provocative and intimate artist’s contributions. It stimulates reflection on shame in collusion with masculinity, from male as well as female perspectives. Thus it encourages us to reimagine these issues that simultaneously play a role in society, in our own experience, in history, and in our own bodies and being.
Exhibition, book and (online) events
Curator Ernst van Alphen shows how since the 60’s the representation of masculinity in visual culture has changed significantly, with a.o. politician, stateswoman, dick by dawn, enlarged by Ina van Zyl, the universal souvenir series by Natasja Kensmil, the soundscape special boy by Philip Miller and an extensive cabinet of drawings by Marlene Dumas with never before publicly shown work such as: the sexuality of christ, man bound to his own sight, whatever happened to the greeks! and with the works of Jeanette Christensen, Arnoud Holleman and sculptures of alabaster and soapstone by Hans Hovy, a video work by Nalini Malani and chronophotographies by Artur Żmijewski.
Een nieuwe naam en een nieuw logo
