CURAÇAO
CONTEMPORARY
ART

On June 18, 2021 the foundation SKOR Kòrsou came into life. Notary Victoria made it official with the board: Josee Thissen-Rojer as president, Nifa Ansano as secretary and Sarah Numan as treasurer. For Avantia Damberg a milestone in her career as an artist, and the step to exciting endeavours in the arts!

Plantation house Brakkeput Ariba becomes the studio of artist Avantia Damberg The Johannes Bosco Foundation and artist Avantia Damberg have joined forces. The plantation house Brakkeput Ariba, owned by the foundation, will in any case serve as a studio space for the artist who is known for wall paintings, stamp designs and the 'Colourful Steps' in Otrobanda, in the coming year. "I live not far from the mansion, stroll around that area frequently and have been in love with it for years," said Damberg. "The estate and manor are actually called 'Nooitgedacht' meaning Never Thought, and that is exactly how I feel: always hoped but never thought that I would be able to make it my studio." According to David Serphos, interim director of the Johannes Bosco Foundation, the country house has been in disuse for years since the Maris Stella SBO moved in 2012. Many students were taught on the estate in hospitality, tourism and grooming. The outbuildings were later demolished, but the main building remained. The Jan Ruimers LTS was previously located on the same site, named after one of the 'Broeders van Brakkeput' (officially: the Crusaders of Sint Jan company) who worked on the education of young people at Brakkeput Ariba since 1937. David Serphos: "We are pleased that we can once again give the plantation house a suitable destination for the coming period. Love for the location and respect for the history of that special place go hand in hand with Avantia."

Stichting Uniek Curacao and Stichting Kunst in de Openbare Ruimte Kòrsou are two foundations that will do much projects together as their vision and mission align when it comes to sustaining Curacao's nature. Stichting Uniek Curacao for already 30 years has turned nature spots on the island into the gems they once used to be. They develop parks and parks need art works, this makes the public use the area differently. This is where we enter a long lasting partnership.

You can sign up as a volunteer at CURADOET to give a hand helping a foundation. SKOR Kòrsou can also use a hand. If you love gardening and/or are handy with concrete and building pedestals you are at the right address with us. More info in Papiamentu about the event SKOR Kòrsou does with CURADOET: Ta bin un parke temporal pa tur habitante di Nieuw Nederland i Zeewijk. E parke ta enserá un jardin, mesa pa sinta i bini huntu anto skulpturanan di arte. E lo ta na banda di laman. Hende ku ta kore jog, famia ku nan yunan, hende ku nan kacho, tur hende por kai sinta einan un ratu, topa, lesa un buki, hasi yoga, picknick etc. Nos mester di boluntario pa limpia e tereno, hasi un poko landscaping, harma mesa, i traha pedestal pa e skulpturanan. SKOR Kòrsou ta un organisashon pa ku arte pueblo di Kòrsou por disfruta mas di espacio pùbliko.

Today Curaçao took leave of a great man of this country: Pacheco Domacassé. His passing came sudden to us on March 22. He was a former director of Kas di Kultura, writer, teacher, actor, author, singer-guitarist and director, loving husband, father and grandpa. Pacheco has written and directed for theatre, film and television. He was also in foundations such as Fundashon Nos Kousa. and he was advisor of SKOR Kòrsou. Founder of SKOR Kòrsou Avantia Damberg had a growing friendship with him since she designed the stamps themed Bandera di Kòrsou 35 years, the Curaçao flag, as he was the head of the committee of making of the Curaçao flag. She also gained much information and help from mr Domacassé for the art project April Murders. He will be dearly missed but we are so grateful for all he attributed to the emancipation of Curaçao.

This years CURADOET was another fun event: gardening and prepping the walls of Landhuis Brakkeput Ariba atelier. This building is used by the artist, founder of SKOR Kòrsou but is also a social meeting place for the board. In no time volunteers signed up for this CURADOET event. Avantia Damberg cooked outside with the wood that was collected from the gardening. It was as they say in Dutch 'gezellig' with a family vibe. Parents with kids, friends and even students came to do what they like to do and it ended with a delicious lunch.

There are lots of people that are willing to help, and there are lots of Non-profits like SKOR Kòrsou that could use a hand. Local Happinez connects the two by creating an app for the latter one, so those willing to help can find them. They're building a social market place, where locals and fellows from around the world share local happines! The founders of Local Happinez came to Curacao to pay us a visit at Landhuis Brakkeput Ariba atelier. They were truly happy to meet us. We will work together as soon as the app is ready. For more info pleace check out their website.

The Seru Papaya stairs project kicked off already 2 weeks ago. Artist Lena Davidovich came from Amsterdam to work on this project together with Avantia Damberg. To involve the teens from Seru Papaya, they could be part of the design of the stairs by means of stencil-art. In the workshop of 4 days they learned how to look for icon imagery of their own neighborhood, how to cut out a stencil and spray it on a wall, a t-shirt, anything. They also learned to make flyers, logo's etc in a the online app Canva. Damberg and Davidovich connected with Ministry of Culture and Education, partnering up. Also with the Ministry of Traffic and Infrastructure and the Ministry of Economic Development. All these ministries have actually already policies to implement. This Seru Papaya project fits right in! The next part is the beautifying of the stairs and the workshop of making Trash Catchers for along the road. Stay tuned for more or follow the social media of SKOR Kòrsou. This project is funded by the VriendenLoterij Fund and Prins Bernhard Cultuurfonds Caribisch Gebied. credit photo: One of the teens from Seru Papaya

Artist Lena Davidovich and Avantia Damberg finalized the stairs in combination of giving workshops to the teenagers of Seru Papaya. The neighbors are very happy and proud of the stairs and regularly keep the artist updated of how they enjoy the stairs. The next part is the workshop of making Trash Catchers for along the road. Stay tuned for more or follow the social media of SKOR Kòrsou.

Trash Catchers is a side project of the Iconic Seru Papaya Stairs. Alena Davidovich and Avantia Damberg will together with young men of Seru Papaya design 2 sculptures that catch litter. The young men will not only learn sculpture design, they will also learn to weld and make the sculpture. There will be 2 sculptures placed near the street on strategic spots where there's lot's of litter. The workshops will take place midst June 2024. Image: example of a so-called Trash Catcher.

Nation Creolisation is the name of the second art project that falls under the umbrella of Art in Nature. It's being realsised by artists Avantia Damberg, Albert Kramer (NL) en Giovanni Abath. These projects have the aim to beat pollution in the beautiful nature of Curacao. Thus these projects are in collaboration with our partner Stichting Uniek Curaçao. We are excited about the deepening of our partnership. This project is majorly supported by the Mondriaan Fund.

February brings exciting news: The government, Ministry of Economic Development (MEO), and Ministry of Science, Education, Culture, and Sports (OWCS) have recently signed a new national decree to support the creative sector. A special committee has been established for this purpose, and I am honored to represent SKOR Kòrsou on the committee. The upcoming elections will determine the president and vice president. This initiative aims to garner support from the government of Curaçao for the creative industry, specifically the art scene. Thank you for your confidence, Zulaika Mook and Fiona Curie.

In April, Avantia Damberg completed a sculpture named "Curacaomba" as a tribute to the indigenous people of Curacao and African enslaved people, who are part of her heritage, like the Yoruba people. The process of obtaining permission to install the sculptures at Sint Joris Bay, Pos Salu, is still ongoing and seems endless. She realizes that there are currently no specific permits for art sculptures in public spaces. Yet! In March, during another CuraDOET volunteer event, the project was delayed to April due to a shortage of volunteers. We crafted shutters for the plantation house Brakkeput Ariba, which also serves as the art studio of Avantia Damberg, founder of SKOR Kòrsou. The previous low-budget shutters were created by the same company that had done a poor job repairing the plantation house's roof. Hopefully, these shutters will withstand Curacao's northeast trade wind as the previous ones all got rejected by the 'noordoost passaat'.

June marked the conclusion of the Seru Papaya Stairs and Trash Catcher project. SKOR Kòrsou re-invited Elena Davidovich from the Netherlands to co-host with me a sculpture design workshop for the Trash Catchers, engaging two young men from Seru Papaya. These youths, at risk of veering into crime, were identified by social worker Shanny Bitorina, who leads the community center in Seru Papaya. The boys participated in brainstorming, sketching, and creating prototypes for the sculpture, considering all technical aspects. The process was challenging for both the boys and us, but our combined efforts eventually paid off. A welding workshop was conducted by Ronald Bertram to teach the basics and complete the Trash Catchers. We then installed the Trash Catchers along the neighborhood's road, aiming to encourage residents to dispose of their trash into the designated Trash Catcher kliko. Selikor (the garbage disposal company) supported the project by donating two kliko's and offering advice. In July, a neighborhood clean-up event is scheduled, more of that in the next post.

In the month of July we had the 2 Trash Catchers placed combined with a clean-up by the neighbours themselves. They are used to litter their neighborhood and they are used that people outside of Seru Papaya come and clean-up their trash. This is why there is always trash again. Very slowly we try, together with Uniek Curaçao, to encourage the neighbors to keep their own neighborhood clean and stop littering. It starts with fostering a relationship. Artist Avantia Damberg is in contact with one of the neighbors who really cares for the area and regurlarly cleans it herself. She connected her with the director of Uniek Curaçao. The neighbor connected Avantia with another organisation of Seru Papaya and now that organisation wants to work together with Uniek Curacao to do another clean-up end of September. This is all good because actually everyone wants a better and cleaner Seru Papaya. We also placed signs in the trend of 'Stop Littering Here. Love your neighborhood' and placed 2 in the road up to Seru Papaya, where the Trash Catchers are, as the new created leisure square, by Uniek Curaçao. We are very happy with the support of Selikor N.V. who sponsored 2 container bins. Avantia will also add lights to the Seru Papaya Stairs to make the stairs more attractive to be used by the neighbors. Now that Uniek Curaçao has cleaned area around the stairs, we hope they will use the stairs more often.

On November 16, 2024, four sculptures will be revealed in a celebratory event at Pos Salu, Sint Jorisbaai. We are thrilled that the artworks created by Avantia Damberg, Giovanni Abath, and Albert Kramer will be showcased. This initiative, titled First Nation Creolisation, pays tribute to the Caribbean diaspora through these remarkable sculptures.