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The Visual Arts of Aruba and the Netherlands Antilles by Marianne de Tolentino

SINCE THE EARLY NINETEEN-EIGHTIES, Caribbean festivals and bienniales have been instrumental in breaking the insularity that has characterized Caribbean art. These events have stimulated artists to share and exchange their work.

The Havana Biennial and the Biennial of Print in Puerto Rico were pioneers in bringing together Domingo gave impetus to the development of the Caribbean arts. "Carifesta," a cultural Caribbean festival celebrated every two years in different islands, includes art shows and has done much to promote the visual arts of the region. Other important events have been organized in Guadeloupe and Martinique. The Gala di Arte exhibition in 1991, the Carib Art exhibition in 1993, and the Arte'99 exhibition have been especially important for artists in Aruba and the Netherlands Antilles. For, if visual artists in the region as a whole have suffered from a lack of visibility, the artists in Aruba and the Netherlands Antilles have suffered a double invisibility.

Speaking with artist from the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba,1 one observes a certain pessimism regarding art instruction, museums and opportunities for work. Curacao has no art academy where one can recieve a professional degree in studio art and art theory. Aruba offers only a part-time course of study. The Foundation for the Arts oganizes art classes and workshops in Saba. In St. Martin, art education falls under the Department of Culture and art instruction is offered in the high school as one of the subjects of the final examinations. Consequently, after completing training in the local schools, art students from Aruba and the Netherlands Antilles pursue further art education in art academies in the Netherlands or in universities in Latin America or the U.S.A.

There is no art musuem in the Netherlands Antilles nor in Aruba. Exhibitions generally take place in musuems of other disciplines, convention centers, libraries, or private institutions and galleries. There is some hope that a museum of (Modern) Art may soon be founded in Curacao. This ten-year long project gained the offical support of the island authorities on the occasion of the last art exhibition held in 1999. [ end of first page ]

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