From March to November 2024 students of the Master Non Linear Narrative collaborated with the Dutch National Archives (Nationaal Archief) to explore the hidden stories behind twelve historical maps from their Navigation and Overseas Expansion collection in order to challenge map-making as an objective process.

The ‘Unmapping Territories’ research project started with a kick-off event on Tuesday 5 March at the Dutch National Archives. Students had the opportunity to meet archivists, researchers and restoration experts for an introduction to the vast cartographic collection, with nearly a thousand years of Dutch history stored in 142 kilometers of documents and 800 terabytes of digital files.

Later in May, NLN students participated in a comprehensive Knowledge Day at the Nieuwe Instituut, Rotterdam. This day was organised by Non Linear Narrative in collaboration with -1 research space. The activity allowed students and followers of the educational programme to get familiar with cartographic, archival and artistic counter-practices of map making and learn about the social and ethical implications of administrative record-keeping.

‘Unmapping Territories’

Dutch colonial past

The maps from the Dutch colonial past are important archival documents of the National Archives with a sensitive history. ‘This collaborative project with students from the KABK is an example of how our collections can be made public in a different way: in a modern context for a new and broader audience and from valuable perspectives’, says senior project lead Incisu Dilem Üzüm-Veldhuizen of the National Archives.

New narratives

The final exhibition Archival F(r)ictions included thoughtful narratives exploring topics like the colonial plant trade, the blank spaces in cartography, the provision grounds of plantations, the oral histories of indigenous cultures, the songs of ancestral sorrow, the deterioration of archival material, the concept of an ‘amphibious’ archive, the history of the limbo dance, the fear of getting lost, the legacies of corporate colonialism, and feminist spatial practices. From coffee rituals to the trade in botanical plants and from shadow performances to fossil capitalism, there was plenty to see in this exhibition.

The outcomes of this research collaboration were on display from 9 to 14 November 2024 at the National Archives in The Hague, aiming to redefine the archive as a space of memory and shared stories.