A collaborative four year long research project, initiated by West Den Haag. For questions please get in contact with us.

In Postcolonialism ‘worlding’ is used by Indian scholar Gayatri C. Spivak among others to refer how colonial powers imposed their own worldview and order onto colonized areas, overshadowing the experiences and perspectives of colonized peoples. This concept aids in analyzing the influences of these colonial pasts in contemporary cultural and political contexts, and how they can be corrected.

For thinkers like Donna Haraway, ‘worlding’ is applied to issues around gender and identity. It emphasizes how our perceptions of these concepts are socially and culturally formed, and encourages active reconsideration and shaping of our own identities, independent of traditional norms and structures.

West introduces ‘worlding’ within art to contribute to a more equitable, inclusive, and diverse society, just as in Feminism and Postcolonialism. We do this in two ways: ‘Worlding of Art’, where we explore the essence and meaning of art together with visitors, and ‘Worlding through Art’, in which we show how art inspires and contributes to a more livable society.

With this goal in mind, we create more space for equality in art, where the audience is not just a spectator, but an active and essential part of the artistic process. This has the potential to strengthen the role of art in society, enhancing the power of art to connect, provoke, and inspire.