The maritime refugee experience in modern art

For Yara Saïd (1991) the refugee experience has been a running thread in her multi-media work. She created the Refugee Nation Flag for the Olympics in 2016. Stressing solidarity amongst and with refugees, Said created works in film, oils, paper collage and textiles around the theme of fleeing across the sea. 

Peter van Dongen (1966) is the artist behind many cartoons. His comic books about Dutch East Indian colonial history have been celebrated in the Netherlands and abroad. In 2011 he created an oil painting around fleeing across the Mediterranean Sea, specifically for the (newly renovated) National Maritime Museum in Amsterdam. It has been in the collection of the museum ever since. 

In this programme, Saïd and Van Dongen reflect on their relationship with the sea. The artists address how they came to work around the topic of maritime refuge and will discuss inspiration and goals with each other. They will reflect on how cultural institutions (such as maritime museums) can engage audiences with the experiences of refugees. 

Both Saïd’s and Van Dongen’s work will be on display. There will be an opportunity to talk to the artists before and after the plenary programme. 

This public programme is part of the International Congress of Maritime Museums (ICMM), but is open to anyone interested. Both general visitors and attendees of the Congress are very welcome.

The programme will be in English. It is moderated by Christina Brophy, Senior Vice President of the Mystic Seaport Museum and Project Lead of the Maritime Refugee Project. 

Programme

• 19.00 - 19.30
  Drinks, viewing of the paintings
• 19.30 - 20.15
  Programme
  • Introduction Maritime refugee project
  • Presentation Refugee Flag project & choices Yara Saïd made to represent maritime refugee experiences in her art
  • Presentation painting Peter van Dongen
  • Conversation Peter van Dongen and Yara Saïd
• 20.15 - 20.45
  Opportunity to view the paintings and meet the artists

Tickets

Tickets for this programme cost € 5. Are you interested in this evening, but is the entrance fee a problem? Please send an email to ICMM2024@hetscheepvaartmuseum.nl, and we will see what we can do to help you.