When you walk on Dam Square in Amsterdam, you can’t miss it: the big banners with the We Have A Dream exhibition are screaming at you. Which is good, cause the exhibition is about people that refused to stay silent, they spoke up, even when it was not with words, it was with mighty deeds. We have a dream is about Martin Luther King, Gandhi and Nelson Mandela. Three leaders, three remarkable men, three people that deserved so much more than they got outta life.
I was glad my parents are always taking me places, cause that makes me want to go places and that has taught me about Martin Luther King and Nelson Mandela. I went to Robben Island to see his prison cell and the awful life he has had working on the island, and when I was little my parents took me to the USA to see the impressive Martin Luther King statue among other things. At school we had to watch the Gandhi movie once, though I mainly remember the not eating and the dramatic ending, instead of the long road towards that faithful day.
Anyway, I went there with L, who kinda had the idea of going there anyway, so I was happy to escort her, haha. Plus, after our Amsterdam Museum Night adventure we had a free ticket to visit one of the museums again, so this was our museum of choice. The Nieuwe Kerk is a beautiful tall church in the centre of Amsterdam, which is an ideal place for exhibitions. Especially the big screen with Martin Luther Kings epic speech on it was very impressive, with the benches in front of it, the words projected on the floor, it is truly magnificent and it just fits there perfectly.
Though the exhibition takes you through the lives of these three gentlemen, it is not an exhibition that really gives a lot of insight into what it exactly was they all did and how it was conceived by the world. You just get a little bit of it, as there are many other things to tell. The exhibition is more a general overview of their lives, with a few milestones, instead of a very good explanation of how these men got so inspired to protest in the ways they did.
It was inspiring and it is necessary to keep repeating to ourselves that protest really does matter. Though there was a piece on the Occupy-movement that I found to be very inappropriate in this exhibition. Occupy has not got anything to do with what Gandhi, King and Mandela were fighting for. It got me a bit upset even, that those Occupy-people got the attention next to these amazing men.
Also I found the middle part where there was a big mirror and questions like ‘what will you do’ a bit too much. It looked nice and it was very Instagrammable I am sure, but it was a bit vague and well, a bit non-commital if I am using that word in the right way. But other than those two oddities I really am glad we went to We have a dream.
It reminds you of what people fought for, and it makes you think about what we should be fighting for right now. I think the black lives matter-movement is a good one, it is also included in the exhibition, but I think there is a lot more than can be done. And to be honest, I do too little about it.
