Discover the VOC through AR

For a long time, the Dutch were proud of their VOC past, but this has raised a lot of criticism in the last years and the debate has become polarized. The VOC Data Experience contributes to an inclusive view of this past. With spectacular data visualizations of impressive historical data sets, it challenges visitors to form their own, more nuanced opinions about the sensitive history of the VOC. Users can search for hidden stories in the data themselves, or do so with the help of six experts.

The Experience is based on the hundreds of thousands of sailors and soldiers, from Europe and far beyond, who manned the ships of the VOC in the eighteenth century. The data allow visitors to explore who they were, what places they visited and what they did there, what their role was in the slave trade and what their chances were of ever returning to Europe. A carefully composed, diverse team of experts explains these experiences and guides the user.

The VOC Data Experience is an innovative, many-voiced AR experience about the VOC that provides a wide audience with new perspectives to stimulate dialogue in the polarized debate about the VOC past. The Experience was launched in Het Scheepvaartmuseum Amsterdam and will visit the Maritime Museum Rotterdam and the Hamel Museum in Gorinchem. Other museums have shown interest, so the experience is expected to travel the country until 2025. Eventually, it will be part of the new permanent exhibition of Het Scheepvaartmuseum.

https://www.hetscheepvaartmuseum.nl/doen/tentoonstellingen/voc-data-experience