Amsterdam Museum opens exhibition ‘Holland, get better!’ - 15 years of Black activism in the Netherlands

On Saturday 1 November, the exhibition Holland, Get Better! opens, a collaboration between the Amsterdam Museum and the Holland Becomes Better movement. Since its foundation in 2010, this movement has worked for 15 years to raise awareness around racism and its consequences, including the campaigns Black Pete is Racism, Day of Empathy, Kick Out Black Pete and the Black Manifesto. The exhibition looks back at the impact of Black activism over the past 15 years while also serving as a call to a new generation to continue the work: on 5 December, the movement will officially disband. Netherlands, get better! is free to visit until 1 February 2026, four days a week, at the exhibition space Beautiful Distress in Amsterdam North.

Zhot Pete is Racism

In Holland Becomes Better!, visitors are taken on a journey through 15 years of Black activism in the Netherlands through various zones. The exhibition opens with a look back to 2010, when an initial group of people came together that later grew into the Holland Becomes Better movement. They united then with one goal: a Netherlands without anti-Black racism, where everyone is treated equally. In 2011, with the Zwarte Piet is Racisme campaign, the movement ushered in a new phase of activism - a struggle that is extensively discussed in the exhibition. Black-and-white portraits by Maarten Tromp show how St Nicholas celebrations changed between 2013 and 2025, how black Pete evolved in appearance and role, and how discussions about blackface and inclusion engaged activists and communities. It also looks at the past, at the origins of resistance to blackface in the early 20th century. Works by Lydienne Albertoe and Charmaine de Heij show how Black histories and colonial traditions continue into the present. Photographs, journals and books also place this struggle in historical perspective. 

Unconditional Dutch citizenship

Further on, the exhibition focuses on the struggle for unconditional Dutch citizenship. It includes a video by Jerry Afriyie, in which he recites the speech from the first meeting of Nederland Wordt Beter in 2011. In the speech, he argues for unconditional Dutch citizenship for all residents, which means treating people with different backgrounds and family histories equally. The video is supported by footage of demonstrations and rallies. In addition, a collection of objects and artworks depicts the united struggle against black piet, with protest signs, videos and works by Arjan Braaksma, Brian Elstak, Dimitri Madimin, Felix de Rooy, Raul Balai, and sculpture by Raquel van Haver. Together, these works form a visual and historical overview of racism and activism. 

Impact of 15 years of Black activism

The exhibition then reflects on the wider impact of Holland Becomes Better: its commitment to inclusion, education and the national commemoration of slavery's past, as well as the challenges and setbacks of 15 years of activism. Visitors will see archive material, developed products and utensils that show both the successes and violence during demonstrations and beyond. It also highlights the fertile ground that Holland Becomes Better provided for new organisations, from Omroep Zwart and BIJ1 to The Black Archives and Black Queer & Trans Resistance NL. Work by Pris Roos shows how individual commitment made social change possible. Textile canvases by Eugenie Boon show the power of community and portraits by Iris Kensmil highlight the commitment to Black emancipation. Holland, get better! shows that change starts with action, individually and collectively. Visitors are invited not only to watch, but also to participate, get inspired and contribute to a more inclusive Netherlands themselves. At an interactive wall, they can take the baton from NLWB and leave a message about their own actions.

The Amsterdam Museum is structurally supported by main sponsor Gemeente Amsterdam and main partner Education ELJA Foundation

Netherlands Gets Better

The Netherlands Becomes Better Foundation has been fighting since 2010 to raise awareness in the Netherlands around the slavery and colonial past and anti-black racism. A prominent part of the movement is organising demonstrations. However, the organisation's work consists of more than demonstrations. For instance, Holland Becomes Better pursues three objectives and develops several free teaching packages that are used in primary and secondary schools throughout the country. The foundation also organises conferences and workshops and the Becoming Better Netherlands does ongoing lobbying work, such as talks with municipalities, ministers and other policymakers. Furthermore, Nederland Wordt Beter is co-initiator of the widely supported and successful initiative: Black Manifesto (March 2021), a list of 12 domains with action points to fight anti-black racism, and the National Day of Empathy on 3 May; with the aim of getting to know each other again, freeing up more space for empathy. 

Amsterdam museum

As an innovative city museum, the Amsterdam Museum, founded in 1926, invites residents and visitors of Amsterdam to become co-owners of the city - a metropolis in miniature. The museum does this by celebrating the city, but also by discussing its lesser sides. The Amsterdam Museum manages a collection of over 100,000 objects.

The Amsterdam Museum's main location on Kalverstraat is currently closed due to renovation. Until the reopening of the renovated Amsterdam Museum in 2028, the network museum is programming at various locations around the city. As for this exhibition at Beautiful Distress in Amsterdam Noord.