Cultural exchange Curaçao – Turkey April 21 – 28, 2025
Last year, I was working on the large commission for the Art Hotel Curaçao. Since I had created press molds for the components of the series, I was able to call in help from time to time — like Timothy Voges, who had completed his graduation internship with me at HKU eight years ago and came to help for the entire month of February. I also invited my friend, Prof. Dr. Lale Dilbas—Dean of the Faculty of Art & Design at Yaşar University in Izmir, Turkey—to come and help during her sabbatical.
During her stay, the first weekend of the Open Atelier Route Curaçao 2024 took place. This gave Lale the opportunity to meet several artists in their studios, and it inspired the idea to invite six Curaçaoan artists to lead workshops at the university’s 4th International Art and Design Symposium, for students from the faculties of Industrial Design, Animation, and Music.
In addition to Timothy and me, Avantia Damberg, Gwen Anderson, Michael Wanga, and Sorandy Sint Jacobs were invited.
Each artist guided a group of ten students (a mix of first- to fourth-year students) in creating an audiovisual cultural connection between Curaçao and Turkey:
Together with my students, I created ceramic tiles inspired by the Turkish Iznik tile tradition, incorporating Caribbean motifs. Timothy brought Curaçaoan magazines and old books and, together with his students, created collages that combined these with Turkish imagery. Avantia and her students translated poems by Elis Juliana and turned them into animations. Gwen used the tulip (which historically traveled from Turkey to the Netherlands) as the starting point for encaustic paintings. Michael had his students dancing, singing, clapping, and drumming to Curaçaoan and Turkish rhythms and Sorandy and his group built musical instruments, including the benta and the gogorobí.
We learned just as much as the students did. Over the weekend, we were taken on several excursions—including an olive museum, a wine tasting, a demonstration by a traditional felt-maker, and the ancient city of Ephesus.
The exchange concluded with an exhibition of the students’ works, complemented by our own pieces, which were donated to the university’s collection. Michael and Sorandy, along with their students, turned the well-attended opening into a musical celebration!
