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This week marks a powerful milestone for Senior Fellow Sacha Verheij: the release of her debut spoken word EP, Wearing My Roots. It is the culmination of her Action Project efforts as part of the Democracy Fellowship. In the EP, Sacha explores identity, belonging, and the ongoing impact of colonialism, rooted in her mixed Dutch, Surinamese, and Indonesian heritage.
When people don’t see themselves reflected in society or history books, as Sacha experienced within her own family, it can lead to a deep sense of invisibility. Her platform Bersama Collective sets out to rewrite that narrative. By connecting artists and exploring colonial history through interviews, photography, poetry, and spoken word, Sacha aims to restore what’s missing. The spoken word album is one of several creative outputs designed to share these multi-layered histories with a broader audience.
Earlier this year, Sacha started her artist residency at the Indisch Herinneringscentrum in The Hague, where she continued her work of delving into personal and collective histories often left out of mainstream narratives. On August 15, she will present a performance at the National Theatre in The Hague as part of an awareness campaign using art to address colonial legacies and memory.
Listen to Wearing My Roots here. To learn more about the process behind the EP, visit the website. Also stay up-to-date on her projects – and the upcoming launch event! – at @sachaverheij.
