If you reflect on the story of Radboud University over the past 100 years, you not only think about the past but also about what we find important now. And how we wish to step into the future. In this project, led by the Radboud Heritage organisation, students are joining art historian and curator Lieke Wouters and curator Youri Appelo in the search for fresh perspectives on the heritage of our university.
All identities have a place
‘Reframing Radboud’ has been going on for half a year now. It was launched in May, to answer the question: how can all the identities within our university be given a place in the story told about the university? Lieke Wouters: “What do you want to take from history and what do you wish to present to others? These choices are not neutral. The fact that this issue is topical can be seen, for instance, in the decision recently taken on naming new pathways on campus. These shouldn’t just be named after professors, but also after ordinary students and PhD candidates who have gone on to do or experience something out of the ordinary.”
Missionary heritage
Wouters works at Platform POST, a platform for contemporary art in Nijmegen/Arnhem that creates exhibitions and public programmes on engaging topics. “Through a hopeful lens,” Wouters adds. “We like to focus on what is possible.” She expects ‘Reframing Radboud’ to generate lively discussion. For instance about items in the heritage collection taken from areas of missionary activity in Africa and Asia, where medics, theologists and researchers of the former Katholieke Universiteit Nijmegen (Nijmegen Catholic University) worked. And on controversial topics, such as: Should buildings still be named after Linnaeus, an allegedly racist biologist? Or about what you should do with a room named after alumnus and former Prime Minister Beel, who has been held responsible for extreme violence in the Indonesian war of independence.
No more boxes
‘Reframing Radboud’ also offers the chance to look to the future, Wouters believes. As she is still in the midst of the project, she cannot yet say what the results will be. “We will definitely also address the representation of gender, race and non-Western backgrounds, but we don’t want to simply put the identity of and identities within our university into new boxes.”
During the Radboud Art & Science festival in October, ‘Reframing Radboud’ will hold its first interim presentation on the uncomfortable heritage of the university. This will be held through an interactive exhibition and a panel discussion, in which a light will be shined on “the most uncomfortable heritage of Radboud University”, according to Wouters. Immaterial heritage, i.e. heritage that is not immediately visible (”Imagine building names or rituals surrounding academic events”) will also be addressed. On Saturday 21 October, the ‘most uncomfortable heritage’ of the university will be revealed.
Attend the Radboud Art & Science festival from Thursday 19 October to Saturday 21 October 2023 and delve into the world of art and science. The Radboud Art & Science festival is being held to mark the 100th anniversary of Radboud University.