Modern art and Gothic architecture
The Oude Kerk (‘old church’) is the oldest building in the city and Amsterdam’s youngest museum. You will find many works of art that were specifically created for this location that comment on history and the world we live in today. Come experience and enjoy art and heritage with others at the Oude Kerk.
Current exhibition:
Antonio Obá: path
12 May - 13 September, 2022
The Oude Kerk is proud to present Path, a new site-specific installation by Brazilian artist Antonio Obá. Obá created a series of monumental works especially for the oldest building in Amsterdam.
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Antônio Obá’s installation is about the relation between The Netherlands and Brazil. The Oude Kerk has a direct connection with this colonialist past. The Binnenlandvaarderskapel (Inland navigator’s chapel) houses the grave of Brabantian sailor Hendrick Corneliszoon Lonck (1568-1634). Lonck’s military actions as captain-general of the Dutch West Indies Company led to the founding of the Dutch colony in north-eastern Brazil in 1630. The Oude Kerk is linked to the history of Brazil and the transatlantic slave trade in other ways as well. Sailors and directors of the Dutch West India Company (as well as the Dutch East India Company) could often be found at the Oude Kerk. Some served as ‘kerkmeester’, i.e. a layman responsible for the church building or finances; others were buried here. The Dutch West India Company brought slaves to both the Netherlands and New Amsterdam (modern-day New York), where they formed the basis of new black communities in these cities. Path exposes and examines this shared history.
The installation consists of both sculptures and paintings. With Path, Obá plays on the meaning of religious icons and rituals, and calls attention to the fusion of cultural traditions that arose from colonial history and other factors.
