#tumblr/Surinamese Art

[sexypinkon]

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          The Artist Dhiradj Ramsamoedj  is now part of the Surinamese 

                                        International Art Fair

[casijaz]

Well turns out the other post won’t be the last one.

Decided not to put anything under a cut but this post is tagged ‘long post’ so you can click on it at will. I’ve added shorter sections in (brackets) to put together the point.

It’s always been like this. In fact a couple of months ago I made a silly post about it. Please stop giving each other ass-pats about how not-racist you might be. Or how your one non-white friend says whatever you posted is not racist.

White people: Stop being performative allies.

My fellow peas of the seas, or individuals who aren’t white who interact on this western website: Being a poc is not a trump card to claim we can’t contribute to specific forms of racism.

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I remember back when I was 17 I defended some (then not obvious to me) clearly racist art a white friend of mine made. I spoke to the people who came onto her art and told them they were trolling, they had to be. Spoke in all caps sometimes, had bolded stuff, all weird ways of talking with this demeaning or passive aggressive tone. I remember thinking ‘hey, do they know I’m a person of colour? They must feel silly! Here I am, a poc, who clearly says this is ok!’ But it wasn’t. In this instance the racist art depicted an indigenous person, and this was an instance of racism against indigenous people, and I am not indigenous. (Translation: Defending racism is bad, even if the people who say racism is bad might be mean to you.)

I also have defended white people who lived in a bubble of whiteness. I figured, well, they live in the bubble, or they’re young, and their actions weren’t coming from a place of malice because they didn’t know any better.  (Translation: Even if you’re a nice person, your actions can still be bad, and you should acknowledge this.)

When someone points out to you that something is racist, you shouldn’t jump to a knee-jerk defence or being passive aggressive in acceptance of this fact. It’s a tough pill to swallow, but you’ll have to go through it. Remember this is not about coddling white feelings, it’s about the reproduction of white supremacy and racist ideologies in a multitude of settings. (Translation: Even if you don’t know anything about racism, or don’t think you’re racist, you could still be. Racism is not as simple as one action. It is a global structure that influences the world.)

Reproducing racist ideologies is something that people of colour can also be guilty of. This means that they don’t have the power to be racist (as racism is about a hierarchical power structure where whiteness is as the top, aka white supremacy) BUT they have the ability to reproduce (or repeat, mimic, etc) the racist ideologies that are prevalent all over the world. (Translation: Because racism is everywhere, everyone can do it, even if they don’t wish to.)

Yes, not everyone has the luxury of being able to understand English to a level that certain concepts come across. Which is why I’ve taken the liberty of adding tl;dr to the end of each paragraph to get that point across for my fellow ESL speakers. However not speaking English well enough can be used as another excuse for condoning racist actions by others. (Translation: Saying I don’t know better is not the solution to stop being racist. Trying to understand the other person is.) 

The point is to stop making excuses. Stop defending the racist. Stop defending racist actions, no matter how small or big they are. 

It is also not up to the people who are actually hurt by this to coddle you and teach you. If you wish to learn more please follow blogs that are specifically talking about these issues. Here’s one. Here’s another. Here’s a fandom specific one. Here are also my own posts about xenophobia and more xenophobia. Unfortunately they are heavy with academic writing but I’ll hope to make a simple English version of it one day. (Translation: Here’s helpful blogs for you to learn more from!)

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As for the people of colour who talk about adding nuance, different perspectives, and how racism is complicated. Yeah. It really is. But whichever argument I see brought up about ethnic issues are still ethnic issues. That’s about xenophobia. I often talk about xenophobia and racism not being the same thing for a white audience, but I feel like maybe I’ve left fellow people of colour out of the conversation.

I’ll speak from my own experiences regarding this, because I could pull situations from all over the world but it wouldn’t be genuine nor would I be the expert. So. In my mother’s country we have many different ethnic groups who most of are not white (I’m pretty sure they make up less than 1% of the population), who sometimes get into conflict with one another. When they discriminate against one another, that’s definitely a bad thing. However when these groups fight both discrimination against ethnic groups and racial categories come to light, as the two are almost always heavily interlinked for people of colour.  (Translation: Racism and xenophobia overlap and connect when it comes to people of colour.)

This country (Suriname) was colonised by western forces so it brought along a lot of strife. While no Surinamese person would probably refer to themselves in Suriname as a person of colour, when they are put in a Western context they definitely always do. When groups fight against each other they use both rhetoric imposed on them by western colonial forces (racism) and hatred for other ethnic groups (xenophobia). Because both groups are still groups of colour, they are only capable of reproducing racism, not producing it, as they have no power to in the structure of racism. (Translation: People of colour can discriminate one another with something they have power over, and reproducing racism.)

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This entire conversation has also highlighted something that I’ve deliberately avoided in my previous posts, but my fellow black Tumblr friends haven’t, and that is the issue of anti-blackness.

Throughout all of this it seems like many different ethnicities have obviously come together and argue on different sides, but one side seems to be devoid of a certain race that has spoken up against these issues over and over. 

When black people tell you that something is racist, your knee-jerk reaction shouldn’t be ‘but it isn’t, because I’m not white, and I approve of this.’ Going back to that story of 17-year-old me, I was not the racial group affected by the drawing. I was not offended, because it wasn’t my racial identity that was being mocked. When black people tell you that something is racist, you can assume that they’re telling you something is anti-black.

Don’t turn this a conversation only about the voices of people of colour when at the heart of the topic it’s been about anti-blackness shown by a multitude of people from different ethnic groups, white or not.

I’ve seen people act like they’re on the good side because surely they’re supporting people of colour who’ve told them that the side I’m arguing on seems to be ridiculous. I’m calling people names! Making assumptions! I’m stuck in a western perspective talking over non-western people.

Then turn around and they’re not boosting black voices. They’re not mentioning anti-blackness anywhere. I see MLK quotes taken out of context. They’re clamouring to reblog or create art depicting black characters or meta about them, while that art is either fetishistic or was proven to be made by a racist (who was proven to be so like 2 whole minutes ago).

(Translation: Don’t throw black people under the bus. Listen to us when we’re talking about anti-blackness. All poc are indeed not the same, so don’t treat it like it is.)

I hope this will be the last time I’ll talk about this. But I have a bad feeling it won’t be.

[hetaces]

@whatsnew-lgbtq​‘s 31 days of pride day 9!! i know I haven’t been doing ‘em all but that’s okay.

day 9: books

so books are my area of expertise honestly so I picked a few favorites to talk about a lil bit here (I’ll put it under a cut).

And feel free to ask me about more books because I’m Like That.

These are all ownvoices in at least one way. Ownvoices rep will be italicized in the list.

Highly Illogical Behavior by John Corey Whaley When you hear what this book is about, it sounds really bad. Like “Girl decides to ‘fix’ agoraphobic gay boy and her boyfriend gets ~close~ with him” is essentially what the synopsis says. It sets it up for every bad trope. And then uses none of them. It’s so good, has great portrayal of good accommodations, healthy friendship, and a bunch of Star Trek references. Representation: Sol is gay and agoraphobic

Heart of Iron by Ashley Poston Don’t look up the synopsis yourself, go right to goodreads (i’d link but you know how tumblr is with links), some of the synopses that come up automatically start with a “it’s like [story] in space” and it’s a spoiler. I’ll put the first part of it here bc it’s hard to get the words. Seventeen-year-old Ana is a scoundrel by nurture and an outlaw by nature. Found as a child drifting through space with a sentient android called D09, Ana was saved by a fearsome space captain and the grizzled crew she now calls family. But D09—one of the last remaining illegal Metals—has been glitching, and Ana will stop at nothing to find a way to fix him. Representation: Ana is written as acespec (not Super clear but it was the intent) Captain Siege is a lesbian. Telle is a lesbian. Robb is gay. Jax is gay.

The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee So, there’s a lot of hype around Gentleman’s Guide and I was sort of expecting to be let down, but it more than lived up to it. Henry "Monty" Montague is going on his Tour of the continent (travel around Europe and have fun one last time, is the idea). Chaotic disaster bisexual Monty causes trouble, of course. So then on the way to dropping his sister off at finishing school before returning home early, they get attacked. Because Monty is a dumbass (it’s actually his fault). Cue rich kids travelling with no money & trying to avoid a growing number of people. Mackenzi Lee has hit the nail on the head with growth. Not only does she get that sometimes, growth does happen because of one moment of learning, she also writes it well, which is a really difficult thing to write. There’s a lot of heavy stuff in it, but none of it was thrown in for no reason, it’s actually important to the books and to the characters. Representation: Monty is bi, has PTSD, and (at the end of the first book, so spoilers) deaf on one side Percy is mixed, mlm, and (you find out part way through so if you’re picky about it it could be spoilers), epileptic. Felicity is aroace. Many other characters who aren’t white and a wlw character in the second book.

I Wish You All The Best by Mason Deaver After Ben comes out to their parents, things don’t exactly go well. They get kicked out, and have to go live with their sister who they haven’t seen in 10 years. They start over at a new school, only out to their sister, her husband, and their therapist (because hey, look how well coming out went last time). This book is so damn cute. And a book with a nonbinary main character! Representation: Ben is nonbinary Nathan is bisexual and black

Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire Think Narnia, but with more worlds and less religion and you've got the concept of the doorways. Children have always been disappearing - going through a door that's appeared to them. But magic worlds rarely have use for used up miracle children. So they're sent back. But they don't come back the same. The children at Elanor West's Home for Wayward Children have all tumbled once. And they all want to get back. But with Nancy's arrival, things start going wrong. Representation: Nancy is asexual Jack is pan and has OCD Kade is a trans guy Sumi is bi (Seanan McGuire is a queer cis woman)

You Asked for Perfect by Laura Silverman Ariel Stone is a perfect student: he’s a community volunteer, first chair violin, and is on track to be valedictorian. And then he fails a calc test. When he finds he can’t fix it himself, he reluctantly gets a tutor. And he may not like calc, but he might like Amir. I started recommending this book to people when I was 5 pages into it. Ariel is so explicitly Jewish that Laura Silverman put her grandmother’s matzo ball soup recipe in the back because it’s not fair to rave about it so much and not provide a recipe. He’s explicitly bisexual by page 8. Amir and Sook’s eyes are both described as “warm” and I honestly think it’s the first time I’ve seen characters of color’s eyes described as anything but “dark”. Representation: Ariel is bisexual and Jewish Amir is a gay Pakistani Muslim Sook is a chubby Korean lesbian

The Past and Other Things That Should Stay Buried by Shaun David Hutchinson Shaun is back with more “so... the world might be ending?” and I absolutely love it. Dino’s ex-best-friend July died suddenly 4 days ago, and his family runs the funeral home. Dino is touching up July’s makeup (he knows how she wore it and everyone was doing it wrong), and she wakes up. But she’s not exactly... alive. She’s just not-dead. And then... other people just stop dying. So they have to figure out what’s happening. How July came back - or at least how to re-kill her when nobody can die. So not only is it a super interesting book, it’s also like... Shaun goes in on topics like “gay people making gay jokes and straight people making gay jokes are different” and “a cis guy might (might) not mind if you call him a girl, but do not call a trans guy a girl” Also I recommend anything by Shaun David Hutchinson. Representation: Dino is gay Rafi is trans, mlm, and mixed (white/Pakistani) Multiple LGBTQ+ minor characters

On The Edge of Gone by Corinne Duyvis It’s an end-of-the-world type book (via comet strike). Due to strange circumstances, Denise and her mother end up not at their government assigned shelter, but on a generation ship. And Denise has just a few days to find her sister and prove that her skills are worth 3 spots on a ship with limited resources. Representation: Denise is mixed (Surinamese/white) and autistic Iris is mixed (Surinamese/white) and a bi trans woman. Els is wlw. Leyla is wlw. Samira and Nordin are Muslim Some minor characters.

Radio Silence by Alice Oseman I’m just gonna give y’all the actual synopsis this time

You probably think that Aled Last and I are going to fall in love or something. Since he is a boy and I am a girl. I just wanted to say—we don’t. Frances Janvier spends most of her time studying. When she’s not studying, she’s up in her room making fan art for her favorite podcast, Universe City. Everyone knows Aled Last as that quiet boy who gets straight As. But no one knows he’s the creator of Universe City, who goes by the name Radio Silence. When Frances gets a message from Radio Silence asking if she’ll collaborate with him, everything changes. Frances and Aled spend an entire summer working together and becoming best friends. They get each other when no one else does. But when Aled’s identity as Radio Silence is revealed, Frances fears that the future of Universe City—and their friendship—is at risk. Aled helped her find her voice. Without him, will she have the courage to show the world who she really is? Or will she be met with radio silence?

This book is so good but fair warning, it gets really heavy. 

Representation: Aled is demisexual (Alice is queer/aroace) Frances is bi and mixed (white/Ethiopian) Daniel is gay and Korean Carys is a lesbian Raine is pan, Indian, and Hindu

Otherbound by Corinne Duyvis Otherbound is set in two worlds - Nolan’s (ours) and Amara’s (the Dunelands, where magic is real). Amara is on the run with the former princess, Cilla, whose family was overthrown by the ministers. Cilla has been cursed and is being hunted, and Amara’s particular type of healing magic is, basically, convenient for redirecting Cilla’s curse. Since they were children, Nolan has been experiencing Amara’s world through her every time he closes his eyes. He sees through her eyes, feels what she feels, smells what she smells. But he’s just a silent observer. She doesn’t even know he’s there. Until now. Representation: Nolan is Mexica and disabled Amara is not white, mute (due to mutilation), and bi Cilla is not white, fat, and a lesbian The majority of other characters are also not white.

[lorux]

Tips on where to eat and drink in Amsterdam

A cloudy and rainy day is the perfect occasion for spending some time on my Tumblr and uploading something that has been in the back of my mind for too long. After 5 months of my relocation in Amsterdam and almost 2 years after I made this city my new home, it’s arrived the time to wrap up some of my best recommendations on where to eat, drink, where to have a coffee, or have typical Dutch sweets! 

If you have received this link from me, you are most likely traveling soon in Amsterdam, so I’m very happy to share with you my recommendations and maybe we can do something on this list, or explore something new together 🙂

Disclaimer: in this list are missing all the most touristy stuff to do. For those, you can easily google “What to do in Amsterdam”, what I’m trying to do here is giving some insider tips. 

Enjoy! 

Where to eat: 🧀

Worst Wijncafè - delicious place based on sausages cooked in a very particular way.

Café Restaurant Amsterdam - Serving brasserie-style dishes, this restaurant is perfect for groups both large and small. The place is located in the former engine room of a pumping station dating back to the late 19th century.

Bussia - (Photo Above) Fancy restaurant in the heart of Amsterdam based on the Italian food traditions. The staff is extremely nice and pays attention to the very details. Menu based on 4 - 6 - or 8 courses.

Wilde Zwijnen - extremely popular and delicious - not cheapest option

The Avocado Show - place based on avocado’s dishes - very popular needs booking in advance

De school  - (Photo above)  Fancy dinner? This is the place to go - elegant restaurant, with high-level cuisine built in a former school.

G’s jordaan - American style brunch

Loetje Centraal (Multiple Locations the Centraal one is the most touristic though) - Excellent Dutch style steakhouse (Extra points for ordering the off-menu “Biefstuk Bali met Knoflook” — Bali-inspired steak with garlic)

Jansz based in the heart of Jordaan neighborhood is a very nice place to have a lunch.

Foodhallen this place is just great to go with friends and spend some time tasting food from different street food kiosks from all over the world. Very hype place and most of the time super full. The building is a very interesting one with also a movie theatre, library and makers shop.

Bella Storia or Fuoco Vivo - best pizzerias in town

Moeders Restaurant recommended as one of the top 10 restaurants in Amsterdam is the best place to taste local food at a very reasonable price.

Morgan & Mees beautiful and cozy restaurant inside a hotel, good food and cocktails as well.

The Lobby Nesplein - nice classy place, perfect for having a brunch and a good glass of wine in the heart of the city. Super nice staff!

Where to drink: 🍸

Lotti's Cafe Bar & Grill - Terrific cocktail bar, with a very nice hipster atmosphere and DJs playing music live based in the lobby of The Hoxton hotel.

Waterkant - Surinamese restaurant very popular - perfect for chilling when the sun is out

Vesper -  little and cosy bar in the west centre of Amsterdam. The place reminds me of a classic speakeasy style of bar, and the staff is very well prepared on cocktails. 

Amstelhaven -  this is one of my most recent discovery. Amstelhaven is a bar/restaurant which has an amazing water view - if you are lucky enough you can find a spot on the benches that are literally 30cm from the water. 

W Hotel - the terrace on top of the hotel is beautiful with also a pool. The view from there over Amsterdam is breathtaking.

SkyLounge - located very close to the central station is an award-winning rooftop bar with an amazing view over the city from the top.

Zoku - Zoku is a combination of Hotel, bar, restaurant and coworking space. Is a super nice place with a friendly atmosphere where most of the time there is also live music. During sunny days its terrace is the place to go! 

JD William's whiskey bar - an unbelievable variety of types of Whisky in the heart of one of the best neighborhoods of Amsterdam

Hannekes Boom - a nice hip place to go to for a cold beer and nice brunch.

EYE Film Museum - the restaurant of the theatre is a very nice place for a glass of wine and a beer to enjoy an amazing view over Amsterdam. Don’t forget that boats to get on the other side of the river are free! 

Bar Botanique - very interesting place well designed with tropical flavors

Shiraz Jardin des Vins | Wijnbar & Boutique - Amazing selection of wines to go with some snacks

Venster33 located in one of the most hip neighborhoods in Amsterdam this bar/restaurant offers a good choice of beers and good food to go with it.

Kanarie Club massive place with a very interesting look and feel inside. Food is in the average, but drinks are very good.

Coffee ☕️

Pluk nice place, lovely atmosphere with good food and coffee. Super instagrammable shop! 

Toki - hipster but very nice coffee shop

Sweet tooth 🍦🍭

Ree7 super famous place for its colorful freak-shakes but also other delicious desserts

Van Wonderen Stroopwaffles as clear from its name this place is very well known for its typical Dutch Stroopwaffles

Pisa ijs a bit far from the city center this is the base ice cream place in Amsterdam

Peejays doughnuts - most famous doughnuts place with lots of flavors and variety

Winkel 43 - legendary apple pie  

Mook Pancakes - best pancakes in Amsterdam

What to see: 👀

Jordaan Neighborhood - the most beautiful neighborhood in the city - just walking through the canals  

Van Gogh Museum

Stedelijk Museum

Rijksmuseum

Science Center - NEMO - Nice view from the top of the building

Zaanse Schans, Zaandam - Windmills area 20 mins from Amsterdam ( you can get there on a bike or with a bus that leaves people in front of the entrance)

Amsterdam Noord - IJ-Hallen if interested in street art and graffiti

Parks: 🌳

Westerpark - second largest park of the city, where usually held food and music festivals.  

Vondelpark - most central park perfect for a nice walk or long run

Amsterdamse Bos - If you are in Amsterdam in spring a must-see is the Cheery Blossom in the Japanese park area of the main park.

[rinsartcafe]

Rin’s Art Café podcast with @digital_ai Link in bio Starts soon 5 pm Surinamese time and 10 pm Netherlands time https://www.instagram.com/p/CVGTTIjoy3X/?utm_medium=tumblr

[gabriela-acha]

Mobile Exhibition Space at @hetentrepot #konvooifestival at Bruges, Belgium. August, 2021. Featuring @fariatie 🌿 Farah Rahman, is a Dutch artist who recently graduated with a Master in ArtScience at the Royal Academy of Art of The Hague, Netherlands. She is part of a collective of artists that works from a decolonial perspective. Being a descendent of an Indian-Surinamese family she produces incense as a way to connect with the practices of her ancestors. In this process, she mixes Indian herbs, with European and American herbs such as clove, cinnamon, flowers of lavender and resin.🍃 Artwork: Objects of the process of producing incense. #mobilemuseum #livemuseum #performanceart #artbruges #artlover #artbelgium #artbrugge Performers: @louise.degraeve @hughmerous_ Curators: @grannyemmy @louise.degraeve @sarah__kerbosch Special thanks to them and to all the ppl that made it possible 🌷 (at Het Entrepot) https://www.instagram.com/p/CUCi0iZAsCP/?utm_medium=tumblr

[rinsartcafe]

Rin’s Art Café Interview with @rainy_tryer A Surinamese artist who has published his latest work on #webtoon as well We’ll be talking about how he started as an artist and how he created his story. Saturday 25th of september 2021 6 pm Surinamese time 11 pm Central European Summer Time @webtoonofficial #anime #manga #comic #interview #art https://www.instagram.com/p/CUNqVu_Ig58/?utm_medium=tumblr