VROUWEN VAN DE STILLE GENERATIE (2025/2026)

25 Portraits, in collaboration with Dominique Panhuysen

Women of the Silent Generation is a series of twenty-five portraits of women from five districts of Amsterdam: Noord, West, Zuidoost, Zuid and Oost. The project brings together photographs by Dominique Panhuysen, drawings by Danielle van Vree and interviews with each woman.

The portraits were presented in six exhibitions at different OBA library branches and published in a book of the same name.

Born between 1928 and 1945, the women of the Silent Generation grew up during the economic crisis of the 1930s and the Second World War, and came of age during the post-war reconstruction. At that time, it was far from self-evident that women would pursue higher education or continue working after marriage.

The women portrayed welcome us into their homes and share their life stories: stories of love and struggle, pain and happiness, marriage, children and work. Having lived through the many changes of the past century, they offer us a glimpse into their lives and the world they have witnessed.

Through this exhibition, we give these women of Amsterdam a face and a voice. Their stories are an integral part of our shared history, and in that sense, part of our own lives.

With support from: Amsterdam 750 | AFK | Tijl Fonds | Gemeente Amsterdam | Jaap Harten Fonds | Stichting Ansicht.

A co-production with De lijnen waarlangs wij lopen.