As the September 2025 Surinamese Wedding Portraits Newsletter reminds us, there will be a new iteration of the traveling “Surinamese Wedding Portraits” exhibition in Bonaire. Curator Lucia Nankoe reports that part of the collection will be on display at the Terramar Museum starting November 25, 2025. Some of the photographs on display have a connection to Bonaire or one of the other islands. Visit the museum’s website for more information. For the latest news about the Wedding Portraits project, visit Trouwportrettenproject.
In collaboration with the Bonaire Public Library [Openbare Bibliotheek Bonaire] and the Wi Na Wan Foundation, related activities are also being organized, which will be announced on the museum and library websites in due course.
Furthermore, Lucia Nankoe shared a new call for Surinamese wedding photos for a future exhibition. Here is the call:
Wedding Photos Welcome
Collecting continues. Wedding photos are still welcome for a future exhibition. See the format below.
I am collecting wedding photos of Surinamese people from all walks of life and backgrounds. The goal is to showcase the richness of modern Surinamese history through photos of wedding couples dating back to 1950. The wedding photo may include family members, neighbors, or friends. It can also be a mixed marriage, but at least one of the partners must be Surinamese. That’s the common thread running through this concept.
I’d like to tell some things about the background of the people portrayed. This will help tie together a broader story that reveals something about the phase of Surinamese history in which they lived.
Of course, everyone who contributes will be mentioned, but there is no compensation. As the initiator, I launched this project without any financial support.
I will loan the photo for an exhibition and perhaps later for a publication. A professionally scanned image in .jpg/.jpeg format will suffice. You can send the scan of the photo to surinaamse.trouwportretten@gmail.com and include a list with the names of the people portrayed, their dates and places of birth and death, the date and place of marriage, the family relationship, and anything else you consider relevant. The caption text will be edited at a later stage and will, of course, be submitted to you for approval before publication.
For more information on the exhibition, visit https://www.secondhomebonaire.nl/bonaire/terramar-museum
Listen to Nankoe speak about the project at https://slotstad.nl/televisie/gemist/tv-fragmenten/2756fba7-d64d-409e-9737-a5ad0f00b1c6/lucia-nankoe-over-de-tentoonstelling-trouwportretten-fotovertellingen-uit-het-surinaams-verledenlA
Also see https://www.foam.org/events/stories-surinamese-wedding-portraits and http://www.nankoelucia.com/wwwluciasnankoe2011/
As the September 2025 Surinamese Wedding Portraits Newsletter reminds us, there will be a new iteration of the traveling “Surinamese Wedding Portraits” exhibition in Bonaire. Curator Lucia Nankoe reports that part of the collection will be on display at the Terramar Museum starting November 25, 2025. Some of the photographs on display have a connection
