DE ZWARTE TAFEL

collective

DE ZWARTE TAFEL is a loosely organized group of Caribbean cultural workers building a local infrastructure for music and art. De Zwarte Tafel hopes to empower Caribbean and other communities of artists despite separations imposed by colonialism, in awareness of common histories should be connected instead of separated by water.

It was born in 2023 as an intergenerational group, recognizing that the value of elders and the potential of youth increase when they come together. De Zwarte Tafel holds a seat for an older generation who empower through their experience, knowledge, and support. It also invites a youth who, finding themselves urban areas with no platforms to match the resources of large cultural organizations, want to take seat somewhere that feels welcome and has power in numbers. Building a black table is the beginning. Gathered here, amongst our own and other peoples, we can experiment with intergenerational forms of making art, having conversations, strengthening networks, and sharing experience across islands forced to forget they were an archipelago.