Date: Thursday October 31, 2024
Time: 16.00 hours
Location: Henk Sneevlietstraat 2, Hoogvliet
On Thursday 31 October, the festive unveiling of a work of art about Henk Sneevliet (1883-1942) will take place. The photo collage, designed by artist Nelis Oosterwijk (1945), is a tribute to the Rotterdam politician and resistance hero who was a key figure within the Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP) and later the Revolutionary Socialist Workers' Party (RSAP).
Program
The artwork Henk Sneevliet will be unveiled on Thursday 31 October at 16.00:2 at the Henk Sneevlietstraat (near number XNUMX) in Hoogvliet. The presentation will be hosted by city poet Elfie Tromp, who will give the floor to Ove Lucas (director CBK Rotterdam), Nelis Oosterwijk, Ellen Santen (granddaughter of Mien Sneevliet-Draaijer, the last wife of Henk Sneevliet) and Theo Coşkun (party leader SP Rotterdam). Elfie Tromp will recite a poem, after which Theo Coşkun and Ellen Santen will officially unveil the artwork.
About the artwork
In the Verzetsheldenbuurt in Hoogvliet, a street has been named after Henk Sneevliet since 1975. Sneevliet was committed to various social and political issues during his life, including the labor struggle, anti-colonial movements and international solidarity. During the occupation, he was in the resistance and was arrested and shot in Camp Amersfoort in 1942.
The photo collage shows the Rotterdam RSP campaign for the 1933 Second Chamber elections. Sneevliet was imprisoned for five months during that period, because he had expressed solidarity with the mutiny on the Dutch warship De Zeven Provinciën near Sumatra. The collage illustrates an important historical moment, to which a detail of the resistance hero Henk Sneevliet has been added.
About the artist
Nelis Oosterwijk (Rotterdam, 1945) graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Rotterdam in 1967 and makes paintings, drawings, graphics, photos, objects and photo collages. Oosterwijk was a member of the Rotterdam city council from 1982 to 1988. From 1994 to 2002 he was portfolio holder for Welfare, Education, Sports and Recreation for GroenLinks in the Feijenoord sub-municipality.
With thanks to Hef Wonen, International Institute of Social History and Rocka Sign.