We received a good question. Who are we and why did we decide to initiate the Selma Sevenhuijsen Foundation? So I like to introduce our initiative group with this short story.

After the passing of Selma, January 2024, her two sons, Teun and Arjan Oosterbaan, needed time to cope with the loss of their mother. They were the owners of her legal legacy and had in mind that one day in the future it might be a good thing to start some foundation for their mother, but in what form was in this period unclear.

I met Selma only once, in January 2020 after a presentation in Amsterdam about her journey in ‘Vrouw aan de Hemelpoort’ at the Embassy of the Free Mind. I was blown away about her research in Etruscan and medieval Italian symbolism. She had an approach to spirituality, which I found extraordinary touching. I bought the book, read it and tried to understand it.

In the summer of 2024 on a holiday in Naples, me and my wife Annemarie had a nice talk with a medical and literary journalist, Luigi Carlino. He was linked to the memory of the medieval Medical School of Salerno, and he invited us to visit Salerno and be our guide. During several days we explored all the historical layers, architecture and symbolism of this beautiful town. I was very surprised, because Salerno felt as a homecoming, and I started to visit it every month. Then, in August 2024 I was asked by Luigi to speak about some theme for the Medical School. I didn’t know what I could offer, but after a night sleep, I woke up, only a few steps away from the ancient Duomo, with the name of Selma Sevenhuijsen in my head.

Searching on the internet, I found out Selma unfortunately had passed away and a small group of friends had been in Barga, April 2024, to keep her legacy alive. I decided to contact Dafne Arlman, a close friend of Selma and designer of her books with the question if there was some connection between Salerno and Selma Sevenhuijsen. Dafne told me about her book of Matilda di Canossa, Queen of the Vatican, in which Selma also explored the relationship of Matilda with Hildebrand of Sovana (Pope Gregory VII), who had his own tomb and chapel next to me in the Duomo of Salerno. As a former passionate history teacher and a professional nurse, I was very interested in this subject. Dafne and I met September 2024 in her Amsterdam studio. But doing some research in Selma’s work and soul journey, I felt more and more worried. I asked myself, how all these connections that Selma made and inspired, could be held together.

Dafne Arlman arranged a meeting with the eldest son of Selma, Teun Oosterbaan, for a first conversation about some legal foundation for the legacy of Selma. Teun made it clear that a foundation for his mother had to represent the wholeness of his mother, not only feminist, professor, labyrint worker, or figurehead of the double-tailed mermaid. For that aim he was very willing to cooperate with a foundation, but needed time to speak about this with his brother Arjan. A next meeting was arranged with both brothers, and we spoke freely in good comfort. I expressed my wish that such a foundation would also be regarded as a platform where initiatives were supported, and in the near future funded, so that Selma’s inspiration would continue.

This was our initiative group, Teun, Dafne and me. We decided to go for it. As we speak, we are now into the more detailed steps of creating a Selma Sevenhuijsen Foundation and launched the first edition of a website. There is a lot of support, from Sabine Hess, Margo Kistemaker, Marion Kuipéri, Mariëlle Lassche and many other friends of Selma. Also we need to consider translation into Italian and Dutch. It’s our hope the foundation for Selma her legacy will become legal in autumn 2025, and off course we are going to celebrate that event. So stay close :)

Jan van Beersum, Amsterdam 11 III 2025

Teun Oosterbaan

Dafne Arlman

Jan van Beersum