Our collaboration with the National Archives
Pioneers – photography by women
2024
Women have been active photographers since the invention of photography in 1839. They work in all genres and play a pioneering role in many ways. Yet women's contributions to photography have been underexposed. This exhibition focuses on the innovative work of 43 women who are pioneers in photography. All the photos on display come from the collection of more than 15 million photos held by the National Archives. Never before has such an extensive overview of photography by women been shown in the Netherlands!
On the Map
2023
The National Archives manages the largest map collection in the Netherlands. A significant part of these maps are hand-drawn and therefore unique. The maps are all made from a certain perspective and with a specific purpose. Such as managing the dune area and constructing a new road network. Some maps have also been used as a propaganda tool and to seize and control land. The exhibition On the Map showed the ideas and intentions of commissioners and makers of maps.
Kòrsou – Curaçao
2021/2022
The National Archives’ collection contains many archival documents, photographs and maps about Curaçao. The majority of these pieces mainly show the perspective of the colonial rulers. The exhibition Kòrsou - Curaçao combines these archival documents with different visions of the island. The exhibition showed sound recordings, interviews and photographs that tell the other stories of the country. Ten artists made new work about how they view slavery, resilience, society and governance.
The war that remained
2020/2021
In 2020 it was 75 years since the second world war came to an end in the Netherlands. With about nine kilometres of documents, the National Archives preserves the largest collection of war archives in the Netherlands. In the exhibition The war that remained, the National Archives showed the challenges that the Netherlands faced after the second world war. Personal histories were told through documents and photographs. Despite the peace, the war remained for many.
Face to Face
2018/2019
The exhibition Face to Face shows 100 portrait photographs in, sometimes surprising and unexpected, duos. The exhibition includes original portrait photographs of high-profile figures such as Winston Churchill, Nelson Mandela and Margaret Thatcher and style icons such as Marilyn Monroe and Audrey Hepburn. In addition, a face is given to anonymous people: an Amsterdam Ajax supporter, an American soldier in Vietnam and an ordinary Indian woman. Magazines, books and documents provide more context to the photographs and show how rich the National Archives' collection is.
On the road, with the photographer on a trip
2016/2017
Travel and photography are inextricably linked. Since the 19th century, photographers have been documenting the discovery of new worlds, documenting the changing world and capturing exotic places. From the turbulent developments in the Sudetenland, the unknown China and Russia in the 50s to mysterious Latin America. The Nationaal Archief showed these unique photographs by photographers including Ed van der Elsken, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Robert Capa, Luc Timmers, Herbert Ponting, Cas Oorthuys, Sem Presser, and Willem van de Poll.
