Congo. A history

There is hardly a more troubled nation at the beginning of the twenty-first century than Congo, the giant country in the heart of Africa, bursting with resources indispensable in our modern age – as well as horrific conflicts. How could Belgium’s former, relatively peaceful colony, independent since 1960, change so much?”

David Van Reybrouck describes the bewildering history of Congo, from well before the arrival of the explorer Stanley to the influence of China in the last decade and the recent economic crisis. Van Reybrouck draws not only on rare archival material and groundbreaking research, but above all on hundreds of oral history interviews he conducted with Congolese people. His eyewitnesses range from centenarians to child soldiers, from rebel leaders to smugglers, from ministers to cassava sellers. Their stories the author has integrated into his great history.

More information on the book and David van Reybrouck can be found here

BIAK stories

In a cinematic installation (read more

about this exhibition at Museum Sophiahof here), Verhoeckx depicts a secret love story, based on the story of her parents, against the background of the decolonization of Dutch New Guinea. She creates a new narrative through the associative use of historical image and sound material from various archives and her parents’ private collection. 

During this afternoon we look at the use of historical image and sound material by a number of filmmakers in telling the history of the decolonization of Dutch New Guinea. What kind of material do the makers use? What are the stories behind this material? What do we actually see? And how do the filmmakers use the archival material to tell their own stories? 

_{© Piet ter Laag}