Exhibition 'WIJS! Fotografie Ilvy Njiokiktjien' in Biblical Museum @OBA Oosterdok
WIJS! Photography Ilvy Njiokiktjien
In the photo exhibition WIJS! Photography Ilvy Njiokiktjien, the Bijbels Museum presents a diverse group of wise people over the age of 80. Their stories can be read alongside the photographs, which are large-format portraits. Older people often face ageism, including age discrimination. The media tends to focus on the negative aspects of old age or portray older people as “forever young”. In practice, being old and growing old is more complex and adventurous. The stories show that people can continue to develop into old age. And everyone, no matter how old, contributes to their environment.
With WIJS! the Bijbels Museum wants to give older people a voice and, with the photographs by Ilvy Njiokiktjien, contribute to a positive and multifaceted image of being old and growing old.
WIJS! will be on display from 20 March to 15 June 2026 at OBA Oosterdok in Amsterdam and will then travel to Haarlem and Zierikzee.
Photographer Ilvy Njiokiktjien
Ilvy Njiokiktjien (1984) is a socially engaged photographer with a fondness for the elderly. Together with VII photographers Ed Kashi and Sara Terry, she initiated a project in which approximately 140 photographers from around the world depict how, by 2030, one in six people worldwide will be over the age of 60, one of the most fundamental demographic shifts in human history. Previously, in I Am Because We Are – Cohousing as a Solution, she documented intergenerational living: with changes in the country's liberal welfare state and the expectation that seniors will continue to live at home longer, interest in communal living is growing. To be us told the story of widowers and their children in the hope of shedding light on both the challenges these families face and the new bond that develops between fathers and their children.
In WIJS! – an initiative of the Bijbels Museum – Ilvy attempts to make wisdom visible, to capture what a long life can do to people. For those portrayed, growing old means above all being flexible and continuing to develop yourself, seeing what is still possible and enjoying it, dealing with changes, sometimes setbacks, and also accepting yourself as you are. How did the elderly deal with the big and small events in their long lives? What gave them strength? And are they wise? Decide for yourself after reading their stories. One thing is certain: their resilience and self-insight will inspire you.
With thanks to
WIJS! Photography Ilvy Njiokiktjien is an initiative of the Bijbels Museum and can be seen from 20 March to 15 June 2026 at OBA Oosterdok, Oosterdokskade 143, Amsterdam. The exhibition will then travel to Haarlem and Zierikzee.
WIJS! has been made possible thanks to the support of Fonds Kerk en Wereld, VandenEnde Foundation, Mondriaanfonds, Stichting De Zaaier, Iona Stichting, Fonds Sluyterman van Loo, Stichting Hofje Codde en Van Beresteyn, Stichting Van der Toorn, Stichting Welzijn Senioren, Maatschappij tot Nut van ’t Algemeen and Stichting Zabawas.
