We invite you to think about the future!
Shared Futures, seeks to decolonize spaces connected to the colonial past in both Ghana and The Netherlands through community-led XR interventions in order to empower local communities in Elmina, Ghana, and Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Ghana was colonized by the Dutch in the seventeenth century. In 1637 the West Indian Trading Company captured Elmina Castle from the Portugese, starting an occupation of Ghana that lasted for over two centuries. Resources were extracted, and many Ghanaians were forced into slavery and transported on WIC ships to other parts of the world.
Our project tries to address this atrocious history through the lens of iconic colonial sites. We aim to build a platform from which reclamation of these spaces can be organized by local communities, for local communities, in order to create a possibility of a new shared future between The Netherlands and Ghana.
What does decolonization mean?
In order to come to a better understanding of what decolonization of colonial spaces could look like, we’re organizing The Shared Futures Lab, workshops with the local communities in Elmina, Ghana and Amsterdam, The Netherlands. During these sessions, our aim is to collectively come to an understanding of what a meaningful community driven intervention would entail and to discuss what would be necessary to transform these historical colonial spaces into spaces of hope.
In Ghana we’re focussing on Elmina Castle, a landmark colonial fortress on the coast that used to be a Dutch slave trading post, and in the Netherlands we want to look at buildings of the former West Indian Trading Company and other locations that are directly connected the colonial history.
Latest Updates
The short documentary "Elmina"
Elmina is a poetic community co-created documtary that reflects on the the presence of Elmina Castle in the town of Elmina in Ghana. The castle is a major colonial cultural heritage site, and the biggest tourist attraction in Ghana.
Built by the Portugese in the 16th century, conquered by the Dutch and the English, it is a landmark building on the coast that still casts a shadow over the town of Elmina and its inhabitants.
Elmina is set to the poem Thinking of Elmina, a mdeitation on the colonial past and the slave trade by the Dutch, the role of sea, and the presence of Elmina Castle. Read by one of the authors, Emma Ofosua Donkor, the documentary chronicles the fisher's community in the harbor of Elmina, working with the castle as a silent witness in the background.
Shared Futures at Ars Electronica 2024
We have a trailer!
Team
Contact us!
We are very open to come into contact with everyone who feels this project is close to their heart. Please write us and email or use the form on the right.
Email:
info@shared-futures.net