Imagine IC & The Need for Legacy
Imagine IC and The Need for Legacy join forces for this residency programme to bring forth the power of communities in heritage work. The residency will be carried out in dialogue with both archives.
Address:
Bijlmerplein 393 and Marnixstraat 427
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Website Imagine IC & Website The Need for Legacy
Social Media: @imagine_ic & @theneedforlegacy
The Need for Legacy is a grassroots heritage organization that makes the legacies of BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and Other People of Color) performing artists visible and accessible to a broad audience, makers,scholars and students. The organization recognizes that valuable stories and creators of color are often marginalized due to a lack of context and categorization, leading to distorted representation. With the innovative platform The House of Legacies, The Need for Legacy aims to make the histories of performing arts of color within a Dutch context widely accessible.
the House of Legacies consist of: a digital archive consisting of a complete outline on theatre makers of colour within a Dutch context, and also has a physical archive grounded in a decolonial stance on archival practices, consisting with collections like the Thea Doelwijt Archive, and commissioned paintings of pivotal directors of color of the Dutch theatre landscape. The Need for Legacy focuses on BIPOC performing arts within a Dutch colonial and migration context. Key research questions include:
Address:
Bijlmerplein 393 and Marnixstraat 427
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Website Imagine IC & Website The Need for Legacy
Social Media: @imagine_ic & @theneedforlegacy
About the archives
A mix between archive, museum and meeting place, Imagine IC pioneers participatory collecting practices, inviting networks to co‑create ensembles that reflect lived experiences often absent from traditional archives and collections. They advocate for heritage democracy, believing that it "represents what we want to carry into the future" and everyone should have a say in it. At Imagine IC, collecting is an ongoing group process of identifying, discussing, annotating, presenting, challenging and discarding. They organize round-tables and gatherings holding heritage discussions about themes relevant to the neighborhood and the city as insights to what urban co-existence looks like, highlighting phenomena, bringing together perspectives, memories and meanings shared by people.The Need for Legacy is a grassroots heritage organization that makes the legacies of BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and Other People of Color) performing artists visible and accessible to a broad audience, makers,scholars and students. The organization recognizes that valuable stories and creators of color are often marginalized due to a lack of context and categorization, leading to distorted representation. With the innovative platform The House of Legacies, The Need for Legacy aims to make the histories of performing arts of color within a Dutch context widely accessible.
Focus & Research
Imagine IC’s work centers on participatory collecting practices that foreground lived experience as heritage. Its focus lies in themes such as migration, society and belonging, religion and spirituality, food and popular culture, and other forms of urban coexistence and community life. Key research questions include:- How to make the archive a dynamic dialogical ensemble?
- What phenomena appear when bringing the different archives together?
- Which imaginations for the future can be distilled from examining past and present?
the House of Legacies consist of: a digital archive consisting of a complete outline on theatre makers of colour within a Dutch context, and also has a physical archive grounded in a decolonial stance on archival practices, consisting with collections like the Thea Doelwijt Archive, and commissioned paintings of pivotal directors of color of the Dutch theatre landscape. The Need for Legacy focuses on BIPOC performing arts within a Dutch colonial and migration context. Key research questions include:
- When considering the archive as a body consisting of materials and collective thought, and on the other hand, the performing arts as an ungraspable medium - how can we activate the archive on performing arts of color?
Residency details
Available period for archive visits: September 2026 to May 2027Duration on location: 2 to 4 weeks
What the archive offers:
Access to archival materials, databases and catalogues; digital resources; curatorial guidance and creative input, collection introduction; scanners; technical and research support.Workspace:
Imagine IC: Flexible workspace in the public area of the public libraryThe Need for Legacy: Shared workspace. Work alongside our researcher. A separate reading room is also available.
Accessibility
Elevators and accessible toilets
