Meeting for reconciliation
3. The Gate Of Tolerance
(Belgenlaan 9)
The Tolerantiepoort (‘gate of tolerance’) was created by artist Juul Baltussen and offers symbolic access to the Belgenmonument. This location is the end point of a journey set out by the Tolerantiepoort; the Gate was the initiative of Dick Bos and serves as a mobile catalyst for tolerance.
The Tolerantiepoort has been placed at various locations in the Netherlands to highlight the subject of tolerance. The gate, for example, was secured by two actors dressed as soldiers at Wageningen’s liberation festival and visitors had to make an effort to pass through the gate. The message here? ‘Tolerance shouldn’t be taken for granted’.
At its current location, the Tolerantiepoort has no security and has been daubed with paint, further reinforcing the above message.
The gate represents a dream. In the Netherlands, we have created enough fences, walls and chasms; it is time to bridge the gaps, open the doors and circumnavigate the fences. The Tolerantiepoort dreams about opening up all that is currently tightly shut and deadlocked, enabling beautiful connections within society. The gate demonstrates that you can see clearly, sometimes close an eye and that by offering your hand, you are opening your heart. Contact is the key to opening the gateway. The gate represents hope, being seen, contact and listening. It has taken this prominent message to various events and opportunities in the Netherlands, including Gay Pride in Amsterdam, the elections in The Hague, and commemorations in Nijmegen. The former Colourful Amersfoort Advisory Body (Adviesraad Kleurrijk Amersfoort) provided advice on the municipality’s diversity policy until 2014. On the initiative of this body, the municipality of Amersfoort decided to install an artwork about diversity and tolerance and purchased this gateway.
