Tuesday 18 November
The moment has come: Afra Jonker of Boa Producties (initiator and producer of Art Project Armazoen) and I are departing for the very first international location of Art Project Armazoen! An incredibly special journey, because after years of preparation and uncertainty, we've finally made it — the international route of Art Project Armazoen across five countries and four continents, the Netherlands > Angola > Curaçao > Suriname > the US > the Netherlands, is now truly about to begin!
In the evening, we fly from Schiphol first to Lisbon, Portugal.
For me personally, it is entirely special, because this trip to Angola will also be my very first trip to the African continent, where a considerable part of my roots lie — in terms of DNA, even 20% more than my European/Western roots. Even though I have of course read a lot about it in preparation and watched photos and videos, I don't really know what to expect. I regularly hear that for people with African roots, it feels like 'coming home'. So I'm curious whether I'll experience it that way too...
In any case, I have packed 2 copies of my new work in my suitcase: a 'reinterpretation' of the Dutch flag, which will collect the names of the various descendants at every location on the international route of Art Project Armazoen. (2 copies, so that if one gets lost along the way, we have a backup.)
A few hours after our stopover in Lisbon, Portugal, we fly onward to Luanda, Angola. The journey will take around 15 hours in total, but fortunately goes very smoothly.
Wednesday 19 November
In the early morning of Wednesday 19 November, we finally land in Luanda, Angola.
And shortly afterwards, I take my very first step on the African continent!