The artwork The Empty Chair at the Abbey in Middelburg
From Monday 13 April to Friday 17 April 2026, the artwork The Empty Chair will be on display at the Abbey in Middelburg, as part of the Four Freedoms Awards on Thursday 16 April 2026. The chair serves as a visual and symbolic representation of the anonymous laureate of the Freedom of Worship Award, whose identity cannot be disclosed for personal safety reasons. The empty seat thus symbolises not only absence and oppression, but also the reality that freedom of religion cannot be practised openly or safely in many parts of the world.
During the Four Freedoms Awards ceremony, attention will be drawn to the broader context of freedom of religion worldwide, in relation to The Empty Chair and the anonymous recipient of the Freedom of Worship Award. Dagmar Oudshoorn, director of former laureate Amnesty International Netherlands, will speak on this topic, drawing on her expertise in human rights and religious freedom.
The artwork was created as a reference to the Chinese writer Liu Xiaobo, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2010 for his peaceful struggle for human rights. He was closely involved in the Charter 08 manifesto, which called for freedom and political reform. In 2009, Liu was sentenced to eleven years in prison following a trial that lasted just two hours. He was convicted of “subverting state power”. The Chinese government had previously put pressure on the Nobel Committee not to award the prize and placed Liu’s wife, Liu Xia, under house arrest. Ultimately, the Nobel Prize was awarded to an empty chair.
Designer Maarten Baas created the chair at the request of Amnesty International. “This is not a chair against China, but a chair for freedom,” says Baas. For him, the chair refers to the proverbial freedom: “The sky is the limit.”
Since 2011, Amnesty International has used The Empty Chair to draw attention to the increasing repression of writers, journalists, artists and activists in China. Since Liu was awarded the Nobel Prize, they have increasingly become victims of serious human rights violations, as have the lawyers who defend them.
The Roosevelt Foundation: “The Empty Chair draws attention in an artistic way to the oppression of activists and highlights the gravity of the situation surrounding our Freedom of Worship Award laureate, whose identity cannot be disclosed for personal safety reasons. For us, it is a poignant yet sad symbol. We are honoured to be able to exhibit The Empty Chair, courtesy of Amnesty International.”
