From Elmina Castle to the beach resorts, from Nana Kofi Anthony, remembered as the first chief fisherman, to the Middle Passage and colonial rule, water has always witnessed the making and unmaking of this town, Elmina. With this mural we honor the water. Painted on the Cornelis Nagtglas House, a building tied to the Dutch colonial governor and his Euro-African partner Anna Abraba Smith, this mural turns colonial memory into a site of reckoning.

The performers and artists of the Museum of Black Futures honour the lives of the Afro-German children who, in the early twentieth century, became targets of racist propaganda in the Rhineland, just across the Dutch border. Their innocent existence was twisted into an image of fear. Their presence was weaponised by nationalist forces to stir up hatred. What followed was exclusion, violence and persecution. But on this night horror becomes a symbol of resilience, inspiration a

Rematriation differs from the more widely known concept of repatriation. Where repatriation often focuses on the legal return of colonial objects, rematriation emphasizes the restoration of relationships, knowledge systems, and ritual care practices. These ideas strongly resonate with the concept of spiritual reparations, a term developed within The Museum of Black Futures by visual artist Femi Dawkins.

During Radical Space, Ancestor Work unfolded — a performance by movement artist and spiritual practitioner Desta Deekman and Damani Leidsman. Drawing on the Winti tradition and their deep knowledge of West African dance practices, the performance explored what happens when the primary audience is not the people gathered in Bookshop at International Theater Amsterdam, but the ancestors in the spirit world.

As we approach the end of the year, I would like to share some good news with you. In the coming year, The Museum of Black Futures will collaborate with the international platform for contemporary art, Contemporary & (C&).