Permanent exhibitions

• Africa
• Eastward Bound!
  • The Netherlands East Indies
  • New Guinea
  • Southeast Asia
• Latin America & the Caribbean
• Man & Environment
• Music World
• Round and about India
  • Themes
• Travelling Tales
  • Love
  • Cunning
  • Courage
• West Asia & North Africa

Latin America & the Caribbean

The exhibition 'Latin America & the Caribbean' draws attention to the cultural and social history of the inhabitants of the continent.

Native Indians, Spaniards, the Dutch and Africans: they all met - willingly or by force - in Latin America and they all brought their own cultures along with them. But nothing remains unchanged after five centuries; cultures mingle, foreign customs are adopted and eventually a unique cultural spectrum is created.  The melting pot continues to churn today and change in taste and colour, especially now that new ingredients are continually being added through globalisation and the ever-present mass media.
This exhibition is a quest for the roots, but also for the living soul, of the continent, for old and new passions, for heroes of the past and present, for old and new symbols. Five hundred spectacular objects, such as pre-Columbian pottery, masks and ceremonial feather ornaments and audio-visual techniques guarantee a fascinating and surprising expedition for the visitor.

Colonial past

In the exhibition "Latin America and the Caribbean" special attention is paid to the relations between Suriname, the Antilles, and the Netherlands. The Netherlands has a colonial past in Latin America and the Caribbean (Suriname and the Antilles). The African element in the exhibition focuses on the slave trade and plantation life in Suriname. For this purpose, the museum's unique collection of old prints and dioramas by Schouten dating from the beginning of the 19th century were used. This part of the exhibition is not stuck in the past, but continues up to the present exploring the modern history of the people of Suriname and the Antilles, both overseas and in the Netherlands.

Reconnecting Africa

Following a commission by the Tropenmuseum, the artist Marcel Pinas from Surinam designed an installation in November of 2006 to be used for displaying objects from the museum’s collection as part of a contemporary display symbolising the connection between Africa and Latin America.

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