Peter Stuyvesant's Ghost, project in public space of East Village, NYC, nov.2006  
Site specific project on the Dutch colonial past in Manhattan/ New York City
Groupshow in public space, East-Village,  NYC.

Blaka Watra is an Amsterdam homeless and hard drug user shelter for people of Surinamese –African origin. Most of its clients arrived in Amsterdam after the independence of former Dutch colony Surinam in 1977. Suffering from having been uprooted and without much hope for the future, they ended up as drug users on the streets of Amsterdam.  It’s likely that many of their ancestors were slaves. Many of Blaka Watra’s Surinamese clients have old Dutch family names. Peter Stuyvesant was the largest private slave owner in New Amsterdam. He owned 40 slaves. Some of these slaves also carried Dutch names. The songs on the CD are a collection performed by two of Blaka Watra’s clients,Ebby Addo and Totty Telgt. Three songs are based on historical slave songs, one is a recitation of the names of the first African landowners in New Amsterdam, and some are improvised around historical situations relating to African-Dutch slavery or are drawn from aspects of Addo’s and Telgt’s lives.

Peter Stuyvesant's Ghost
Songs, Texts and Rhythms performed by Ebby Addo and Totty Telgt
audio CD, 23 min. and printed matter 24 x 42 cm in sleeve, Saskia Janssen, 2006
Recorded for the exhibition Peter Stuyvesant's Ghost by Saskia Janssen at the Blaka Watra Shelter, 26th and 29th of october 2006, Amsterdam.
CD, printed matter and sound on telecom server.
Edition: 150