From February 27 through May 25, 2025, Framer Framed presents the exhibition Past Disquiet – an exhibition born out of more than a decade of research by curators Kristine Khouri and Rasha Salti on international solidarity movements. The exhibition presents a shared history of politically engaged artists and initiatives worldwide, shedding new light on the role of art and political mobilization.
The research behind the Past Disquiet exhibition began at four forgotten “museums of solidarity” or “museums in exile. International Art Exhibition for Palestine (Lebanon, 1978), Museum of Latin American Art in Solidarity with Nicaragua, The International Museum of the Resistance Salvador Allende and Art Contre/Against Apartheid. These initiatives functioned as acts of solidarity: they supported the liberation struggle of the Palestinian people, the Sandinista revolution in Nicaragua, rejected the Pinochet dictatorship in Chile and turned against the apartheid regime in South Africa. Despite their considerable scope and impact, the collections on display have been largely forgotten.
Kristine Khouri and Rasha Salti followed the international network of solidarity movements through Beirut, Paris, Rome, Rabat, Baghdad, Tokyo, Venice, Santiago, Managua and Cape Town. Along the way, they discovered countless stories of artists who organized exhibitions, intervened in public space and created a special museum form to visualize and present their ideals. Past Disquiet brings these stories back to light with photographs, pamphlets, newspaper clippings, posters, documents, interviews and videos that bear witness to a shared history of politically engaged artists and initiatives.
Following previous editions in Barcelona, Berlin, Santiago, Beirut, Cape Town and Paris, this new edition presents the history of artistic solidarity within the Netherlands. It explores how international movements from the 1960s, such as the anti-Apartheid, anti-Vietnam War and Chilean resistance movements, were supported by local activism. A well-known example is the Dutch International Defense and Aid Fund, which supported anti-Apartheid militants in South Africa. The exhibition highlights the dynamic and creative nature of these movements and how well their archives have been preserved in Dutch institutional collections.
Opening
The exhibition opens on Thursday, February 27. Please register here for the opening.
