Oranjestad/Willemstad/The Bottom/Philipsburg/Kralendijk:--- The Where Culture Lives project has reached a new milestone after a summer filled with conversations across Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao, Statia, St. Maarten, and Saba. Between June and September, focus group discussions and interviews brought together cultural practitioners, educators, heritage experts, policy makers, and community members who openly shared their experiences, challenges, and hopes for the future of arts & culture (practices), cultural heritage, and creative expression in the Dutch Caribbean.
To the center of the project for the next phase are the (recently) activated Island Coordinators, a group of socially engaged professionals on each island who ensured the successful execution of the focus groups. They include:
● Aruba – Dr. Gregory Richardson, leading scholar and anthropologist
● Bonaire – Lara Chirino, consultant and community leader
● Curaçao – Elton Villarreal, cultural advocate and social entrepreneur
● Saba – Sharifa Balfour, Director of the Saba Heritage Center
● Statia – Paula Pandt-Pompier, educator, community development and research professional
● St. Maarten – Ludmila Duncan, social entrepreneur and researcher (for focus groups), and as of this week the University of St. Martin, who involved Ashayna Nisbett, a research consultant and cultural practitioner for the upcoming survey phase.
Thanks to their coordination and commitment, over 100 voices were brought to the table, ensuring that the project’s findings are firmly grounded in local realities across sectors.
Aruba is the last island to finish its focus groups this week. According to Lead researcher/ Island coordinator Dr. Gregory Richardson, “Aruba is currently experiencing so much at the moment with quite some dynamics and activities for culture and the creative industries. The participation of many organizations and community persons was strong, and with the two other lead researchers (Ludmila Duncan and Elton Villareal), we are excited to transcribe now and analyze all that was expressed and brought forward”.
The entire team hereby expresses their sincere thank you to everyone who participated. With this phase complete, the project now prepares to move into the survey stage, which will invite the wider public to share their cultural engagement, practices, and perspectives. Both digital and physical surveys will be launched in October and will be open to all residents across the six islands. The island coordinators will play a key role in managing the success of this stage and encouraging as many responses as possible. The island coordinators and to-be-recruited surveyors will be trained and prepared by the WCL team, supported by USM, NAAM, and the Boekman Stichting. Surveys will include questions about cultural, arts, and heritage education in schools and cultural activities as practiced by young and old outside of school. This is the most crucial reflection point in the Where Culture Lives project, laying the groundwork for the first comprehensive cultural mapping of the Dutch Caribbean.
“The insights from the focus groups help to formulate survey questions that are relevant to the local context and help to identify potential barriers to participation that can be tested in the survey. It’s exciting to be moving forward with the next phase with Paula, Lara, Sharifa, and USM with Asheyna on board, as we were very intentional that this project is based on ownership to reflect our cultural practices accurately. These practices & voices matter to our sense of identity and future,” reflected Project principle Jorien Wuite.
Ludmila Duncan, Elton Villarreal, and their fellow Island coordinators are enthused and encouraged that the discussions provided such rich insights, unique perspectives, and the extent of cultural engagement and practice on islands.
Duncan and Villarreal echoed this call to action: “If you are an artist in your spare time, a dance teacher, a fervent heritage practitioner, or the parent of a steel pan player or aspiring young painter, we ask you humbly to participate in the survey. By doing so, we can not only understand our, but also provide solutions and recommendations to policy makers to better support culture, the arts and cultural heritage development of our islands.”
For more information, please (WhatsApp) contact the Project principals Jorien Wuite, (721) 5202335, and Elton Villarreal, (599) 95213108 .
The Where Culture Lives project was commissioned by the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science (OCW) and is managed by St. Maarten-based consultancy Lemonade B.V.
