27 June 2020
Entering a Period of Cessation, Withdrawing Our Name

Today, we announce that as of 27 June 2020, we are withdrawing our thirty-year-old name “Witte de With Center for Contemporary Art”. Marking the start of this transitional juncture, our name insignia are dismantled from the façade of the building; it is removed from our social media channels and letterhead.

As we enter into the final phases of our institutional renaming, the cessation of our name creates greater space for imagination. In the coming months, a series of Public Forums and an Online Survey will engage citizens of Rotterdam, as well as people elsewhere in the country and internationally. These are among the activities that inform the renaming of our institution.

The name change initiative at our institution involves: (a) acknowledgement; (b) research; (c) community building; and (d) public participation. The initiative is designed to delve into dissonant heritage. It emphasizes the role that art institutions like ours have in society to foster mutual understanding.

On 14 June 2020, we announced that the new name of our institution will come into effect on 27 January 2021. We understand that the pace of change is important, and we realize that while our commitment to structural change preceding that of a new name has required time, it is equally important for our institution to be timely. We are now entering into a transitional period marked by the cessation of our name.

Find out more about our renaming

View our timeline, from 2017 to date, on the debates of our name and the work we’ve been doing to meaningfully change our institution. We’ve also been asked to concisely explain reasoning and processes of our renaming. Here are our answers to FAQ.