Context: Hidden Connections

Why do we know so little about what happened on the plantations in the former Dutch East Indies? The horrific history of contract labor on Deli in Sumatra, which forced people to work for the western entrepreneurs, seems to have been covered up. This also means that the stories of resistance, which did indeed exist, were often not recorded but only passed on orally.

This deliberate oppression and denial of the plantation workers and their experiences is still palpable. In the multi-year research project Hidden Connections, the Van Abbemuseum unravels its own origins in this colonial past. From March 2, 2024, the museum will present the results in an exhibition, podcast and heritage platform. An art project will follow in the autumn of 2024, involving young makers to create new work that reflects on this research.

Founder Henri van Abbe The Van Abbemuseum was named after Henri van Abbe (1880-1940), the founder of the Karel 1 cigar factories, once the second biggest employer in Eindhoven and the surrounding area. The tobacco for Karel 1 cigars was sourced largely from plantations in the Dutch East Indies. Even though Van Abbe was not based in the Dutch East Indies, the tobacco he bought from Deli, on the island of Sumatra, had a big impact on the region and its inhabitants. In 1933, Van Abbe founded a museum for contemporary art, funded partly with money he had made from tobacco. Besides a building, Van Abbe donated 26 paintings from his personal collection, including works by Isaac Israëls, Carel Willink and Jan Sluijters.

Ongoing research Over the last 10 years, the Van Abbemuseum has become increasingly aware of its roots in the tobacco industry. The donation of the Van Abbe family archive to the museum in 2018 was the starting point for ongoing research into its past. The initial results have been presented in the museum since autumn 2021. On 2 March 2024, this presentation will be expanded to include new work inspired by this research.

Why have events on the plantations in Sumatra been kept hidden? And why don’t we know anything about the different forms of resistance to it? Author and historian Reggie Baay has searched Dutch archives for forgotten stories about this period. At the same time, artists and researchers Ferial Afiff and Dwihandono Ahmad spoke to descendants of contract workers on the plantations in Deli. Isabelle Britto also did research to find out how much Henri van Abbe could have known about the conditions there.

Hidden stories of resistance Curators Reggie Baay and Bibi de Vries will present the results of the research above in the exhibition Hidden Connections. Archive material, audio and video interviews and illustrations in the exhibition will all focus on the perspective of the plantation workers in Deli and their working and living conditions. Graphic designer Gayle Tjong-Kim-Sang took inspiration for her huge wall drawings from the inventive ways contract workers chose to express their anger, sadness and to warn each