Snapshots of Sustainability: Sharelly Emanuelson’s Exhibition 'Duurzaam/Sustain/Tene'

What does sustainability within the Netherlands and the six Dutch Caribbean islands look like? Sharelly Emanuelson examines the relationship between humans and their environment in light of climate change by asking: what do we hold on to and what do we let go of?

Duurzaam/Sustain/Tene

The works in the exhibition Duurzaam/Sustain/Tene are thematically focused on human actions, with photographs capturing how people deal with issues such as water management, erosion and waste disposal. These consequences are large or small, temporary or permanent. Emanuelson photographed in the Netherlands and the six Dutch Caribbean islands: Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao, Saba, St. Eustatius and St. Maarten.

Sharelly Emanuelson

Visual artist Sharelly Emanuelson lives in Curaçao and works partly in the Netherlands. Through the creation of film, video, sound installations and photography, Emanuelson materializes her observations and research of everyday practices and relationships between art, culture, heritage & colonial remains. She has been awarded the Charlotte Köhler Prize (2020), the Volkskrant Visual Arts Audience Award (2020) and the Black Achievement Spotlight Award (2018).

Document Netherlands

The Rijksmuseum has been asking Dutch photographers to research and record current social topics since 1975. Together, these photographs form an impressive visual history of the Netherlands from the late 20th century to the present.

Document Netherlands Junior

Together with Document Netherlands, Document Netherlands Junior can be seen in the Photo Gallery. Document Netherlands Junior is a photo contest for secondary school and college students, this year for the first time open both in the Netherlands and on the Dutch Caribbean islands. The theme is ‘A second life: How do you recycle?’, and ten nominated students will receive a master class from Sharelly Emanuelson and museum experts. Two winners will be chosen from the top ten after the master classes. All nominees can be seen in the exhibition.

The exhibition is on view from 23 September 2022 – 15 January 2023 at the Rijksmuseum photo gallery.