In 2008 artists Petra Bauer and Annette Krauss planned a protest march aimed to publicly give voice to the critique against the phenomenon of Zwarte Piet. This event would be the starting point for the project under the title 'Read the Masks. Tradition Is Not Given'. However, a few days before the march was to take place the project received extensive media reporting, triggering hundreds, if not thousands, of comments. Some of them were extremely negative reactions and even included threats of violence against people involved in the project. Due to these threats the march was cancelled. The huge media attention revealed the refusal to discuss Zwarte Piet, but it was a perfect stepping stone for a debate about questions such as national identity, racism, who has the right to speak, freedom of speech etc.
challenging the collective memory
In 2008 artists Petra Bauer and Annette Krauss planned a protest march aimed to publicly give voice to the critique against the phenomenon of Zwarte Piet. This event would be the starting point for the project under the title 'Read the Masks. Tradition Is Not Given'. However, a few days before the march was to take place the project received extensive media reporting, triggering hundreds, if not thousands, of comments. Some of them were extremely negative reactions and even included threats of violence against people involved in the project. Due to these threats the march was cancelled. The huge media attention revealed the refusal to discuss Zwarte Piet, but it was a perfect stepping stone for a debate about questions such as national identity, racism, who has the right to speak, freedom of speech etc.