From April first until the end of 2016, we take visitors into the world of asylum in the Netherlands. Come and experience the exhibition De Asielzoekmachine (The Asylum Search Engine).
The refugee crisis has deeply divided Europe and the Netherlands. While some call for closed borders, others advocate free entry. There is little nuance in the heated debates. Asylum seekers are either unwelcome parasites who feed on our wealth or pitiful figures deserving of our compassion. Rules are rules, states one group; the individual comes first, states the other.
In this exhibition you are introduced to the world of asylum by 41 visual artists and photographers. This world shows Arrival, Procedure, Residence, or Rejection and Departure. Most of us will never experience that world. Who among us has set foot in the offices of the Immigration and Naturalisation Service, an asylum centre or the border detention centre?
Refugees seem to come from a different world; a place of war, violence and poverty. How do you relate to these people? What responsibilities do you, as a Dutch citizen, have for our policies? Do you look away or do you step in and think along?
Meetings on asylum issues
In the context of the exhibition we organize two meetings about the crisis concerning asylum seekers. Het Nutshuis in The Hague organizes a meeting in The Hague as well. The final meeting will be in Theater aan het Spui. Make sure to check out the agenda!
De Asielzoekmachine: cross-media project
De Asielzoekmachine is a cross-media project that investigates the complex world of Dutch asylum policy and offers citizens an opportunity to think along.
It consists of a series of events and meetings, exhibitions, an online documentary, a TV documentary and a series of documentaries.