In 1595, two teenage boys were taken from Madagascar by Dutch traders on their first expedition to Asia. The traders renamed them Lourens and Madagascar. These boys became the first known enslaved individuals trafficked by what would later become the Dutch East India Company (VOC). Journalist Leendert van der Valk unearthed their story in the archives. Writer Clarice Gargard transformed Leendert’s findings into a powerful new theatre text.

In june 2025, the book Volg het Spoor was published as a public-oriented edition of a research project on the involvement of Arnhem and the province of Gelderland in the Dutch slavery past. The book presents dozens of historical stories that link the city of Arnhem and its institutions, families, and streets to the Dutch colonial system and the transatlantic slave trade. I was asked to create the cover illustration for this publication.

From April 18 to August 31, 2025, Valkhof Museum presents the exhibition Bittere Oogst/Bitter Harvest. The exhibition reveals the hidden history of slavery and resistance through a unique diorama of a Surinamese coffee plantation from 1823, crafted by Gerrit Schouten. Artist Richard Kofi made the drawings for the poster of the exhibit. His project Draden van ons Nederlandse slavernijverleden is part of the exhibition's program.

In every province of the Netherlands, residents are working together on an impressive tapestry that depicts the regional history of the colonial slavery past. For Gelderland, artist and curator Richard Kofi designed a tapestry no less than 35 meters long, which expresses both history and hope for the future.

In 1971, the television program Soul presented a legendary conversation between poet Nikki Giovanni and writer James Baldwin. They represent two generations reflecting on the reality of Blackness in a violent world, as well as love, family and the ways their personal experiences influence their art. In this edition of Radical Space, choreographer Vainergill Thurnim, poet Rohan Ayinde and saxophonist Diana Dzhabbar artistically continue this famous dialogue.