OUR LORD IN THE ATTIC MUSEUM

Our Lord in the Attic Museum is one of the country’s most notable historical monuments: a seventeenth-century residence containing a hidden Catholic church in the attic.

Diversity – religious and secular – is one of the museum’s core values. Drawing on our heritage, we connect with our own time and its importance to modern society. How free were the seventeenth-century Catholics when they were barred from expressing their faith in public?

 

How free are you if you have to hide your identity? This is the central question for Voices of Tolerance. At prevocational secondary (vmbo) schools, pupils from a particularly wide range of background, religion and philosophy connect with one another every day. Polarisation and lack of opportunity are part of everyday life, so it is crucial that pupils carry on the discussion and listen to each other. And that they realise that the freedom to be who they want to be is a right that everyone has, and that this forms the foundation of our democracy.

  • We’re a cultural city, a city in which people from many different backgrounds, religions and ethnicities come together. That’s an essential aspect of our city. We need to combat discrimination wherever we encounter it.
  • Femke Halsema, burgemeester Amsterdam. Uit: Parool van 24 november 2023

MISSION AND VISION

When you enter the hidden church at Our Lord in the Attic Museum, you experience quite literally what it feels like to have to hide your identity in public as part of a religious minority.

What does freedom mean today? In the end, how accepting and tolerant are we of ourselves and others? Discrimination, polarisation and lack of opportunity are on the rise. The increasingly uncompromising debate is leading to a growth in prejudice and xenophobia.

The history of the hidden church shows that issues such as (in)tolerance, freedom of conscience, freedom of expression and religious affiliation matter in every age. It is vital that we protect these freedoms. That is why the museum stands up for an open and democratic society in which everyone is able, permitted and dares to be who they want to be. We do this by positioning the museum as a welcoming place where people connect and share their experiences. The emphasis always being on increasing understanding and social cohesion in today’s culturally diverse society. Zodra je de schuilkerk van Museum Ons’ Lieve Heer op Solder binnenstapt, ervaar je letterlijk wat het betekent om als religieuze minderheid je identiteit in de openbare ruimte te moeten verbergenWat betekent vrijheid vandaag de dag? Hoe verdraagzaam en tolerant zijn we eigenlijk, naar onszelf en de ander? In toenemende mate hebben we te maken met discriminatie, polarisatie en kansenongelijkheid. Het verharde debat zorgt voor vooroordelen en angst voor de ander.

CONTACT

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  • Museum Ons’ Lieve Heer op Solder
  • Oudezijds Voorburgwal 38-40
  • 1012 GDAmsterdam
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  • +31 (0)20 624 66 04 (during office hours)
  • E-mail: voicesoftolerance@opsolder.nl
Instagram voicesoftolerance


COLOFON

Design Stefan van den Heuvel
Development Hidde Braun and Niels Meijer
Content Our Lord In The Attic Museum
Photography Rebekka Mell, Bart Merkx, Lesley Adu-Darkwah, Emine Turan, Museum Ons’ Lieve Heer op Solder
Film Thomas Brand
Supported by Amsterdams Fonds voor de Kunst, Gemeente Amsterdam, Fonds 21, VSBfonds, Fonds voor Cultuurparticipatie, Oolgaardt Stichting, Coornhert Stichting, Stichting Bevordering Katholiek Basis Onderwijs