It is with great dismay and sadness that we have learned that our alumnus (Fine Art, 2001) and a colleague artist
Alex da Silva
has passed away on December 30th, 2019. We wish his family and closest ones a lot of strength during this sad and difficult time.
Staff, students and alumni,
Willem de Kooning Academy, Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences
Commemoration
There will be a public memorial gathering on January 1st, at 16:00 at the Slavery Memorial Monument, Lloydstraat 45-59 (Lloydkwartier Delfshaven), organised by Rotterdam's Afro-Dutch community leaders Carlos Gonçalves and Ninny Duarte Lopes.
Article in Algemeen Dagblad (in Dutch) and Interview with Alex da Silva in Afromagazine.
Clave is a monument by Alex da Silva to commemorate the abolishment of slavery 150 years ago in Holland. The Dutch words stencilled on the base of the sculpture "Het lichaam dat slaaf is vertrekt de ziel die vrij is blijft" (The body of the slave leaves, the free soul stays) are a free translation of lines from a traditional Cabo Verde 'Morna' folk song.
Photography: Florian Cramer
Obituary for Alex da Silva written by Joe Pollitt
Cover image: detail of the Slavery Memorial Monument, Alex da Silva, 2013 (Image source: Alex da Silva's Facebook account)
