De Hut van Oom Tom, Moortje en Othello, but also: the Sjors en Sjimmie film adaptations by Henk van der Linden, Wendy van Dijk's Dushi, the popular Black and White Minstrel sketch shows (on Dutch television until 1972) and of course Zwarte Piet: since the 19th century, white artists have put on makeup to play caricatured, stereotypical versions of Zwarte* people. In minstrel shows, revues, plays or sketch shows, characters in blackface are a well-known phenomenon. Whereas the above characters are associated for many white people with fond (childhood) memories, they have had a painful impact on Black people by contributing to exclusion, inequality and discrimination.
Using material from the theatre collections, this exhibition examines how a seemingly innocent medium like theatre has contributed to the normalisation of blackface, on Dutch stages – and beyond. Wit speelt Zwart also features works by contemporary artists, such as Kara Walker and Brian Elstak.
'It's just a joke. It's not meant that way.' This is how many white people see the imitation of Black people.