Orientation trip to Curaçao

In January, artistic director Esther van Rosmalen travelled to Curaçao to meet artists and organisations on the island. This time, it was not for Witte Rook, but for the Watersnoodmuseum Ouwerkerk, which has a wonderful residency programme inviting ten artists from across the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Esther is the curator of this programme and visited Instituto Buena Bista, the Curaçao Museum, Cathedral of Thorns, Farm to Crafts and spoke with various artists.

‘A whole new world opened up for me. It is so important to visit artists where they live and work. Although a week is far too short, I now understand better where their inspiration and choices come from. I hope to see and learn much more about Curaçao, because in Europe we know far too little about the Dutch Caribbean.’

Curaçao is not only a beautiful island, it also has a vibrant art scene and many exchanges with the Netherlands. As part of the Watersnoodmuseum’s Living with Water programme, there were many discussions about climate change, how the island is increasingly flooded as a result of deforestation, and how this is a consequence of its colonial past. But there was also time for some research into the Wilhelmina Park in Willemstad and, coincidence or not, one of the artworks by Curaçao artist Vesuhely Americaan also turned out to be called Living Archives (Levende Archieven).