Is it because I’m black?

Invited by WdW Education, a group of young people aged 18 to 26 have worked behind the scenes over the past few weeks to create the event Is it because I’m black.

With this project, they have had the opportunity to infiltrate an established art institute and ‘ in collaboration with participating artists and curators ‘ to create their own vision based on the themes from the exhibition Street: behind the cliché.

Wednesday 18th October will see the results of this collaboration, taking the form of an evening of art, discussions, dance and music. The street is the inspiration for both the exhibition and this accompanying event, a public space where people meet or pass each other by. To some, it is a place to move alone from A to B. For others, it is a political, cultural or creative stage. On the street, we encounter a wide range of differences and resemblances. It is a theater in which to see and be seen.

During Is it because I’m black? Witte de With will take on the symbolic role of a lively street. Treating the exhibition as public space, the invited guests and the audience will investigate the influence of the street on their identity and daily routine.

The artist David Blandy will be interviewed by one of the working group. Blandy’s work analyzes the effect of mass media, subcultures and popular culture on the shaping of one’s identity. Columnist Hasna El Maroudi will read a new piece of writing, in which she questions whether the street is a place of freedom or a place where one is forced to take on a certain identity. Choreographer Alexandra van der Hilst will give a dance workshop in the gallery space. Will you move a long or silently watch from the sidewalk?

Is it because I’m black? offers a wide range of possibilities to view the street from different angles.

Participants of the working group are: Nina Boas, Vincent Cardinaal, Hans Dekker, Stefanie Elst, Hedwig Homoet, Niels van Poecke, Jelle schuilenberg, Lotte Stekelenburg, Linda THoen, Bieke Versloot.