Stimuleringsfonds

Programme maker and curator Ana Maria Hernandez has been appointed by the Fund as talent scout for Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao, Sint Maarten, Sint Eustatius and Saba.

Read in Papiamentu

In the coming months, Ana Maria Hernandez will start looking for participants for the scout night she is organizing in Curaçao at the end of March 2024. During the scout night, 10 emerging makers from the ABCSSS islands will pitch their plans to a jury of professionals from the art and design world. This jury will select four makers from the pitches who will receive € 1,000 from the Fund to draw up a development plan. They will subsequently receive a grant of € 25,000 to actually implement this plan.

who is this for?

The scout night is aimed at designers or makers who develop cultural/artistic products independently and want to further deepen and professionalize their practice. For instance, emerging fashion designers, animators and cartoonists, art directors, and media and digital artists. But creative entrepreneurs working on issues concerning climate, nature, food, heritage and sharing underexposed stories are also eligible. The scout night is specifically aimed at makers based on Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao, Saba, Sint Eustatius and Sint Maarten. In addition, you are:
- at least 18 years old;
- active within the design and maker culture;
- ready to spend a year working on independently setting up and further developing your artistic practice.

Talent Platform – Mario Gonsalves

Watch here a portrait of multidisciplinary designer Mario Gonsalves who received the grant in 2023.

contact

If you have any questions or want to know more, you can send an email to scoutnightsABCSSS@stimuleringsfonds.nl .
In late January and early February, Ana Maria Hernandez is organizing orientation sessions on Aruba, Curaçao and Sint Maarten. More information on the application procedure will also be given during these sessions.
The sessions are scheduled on:
- Aruba: 27 January 2024, 10 am, Studio Six Media (Weststraat 7 UNIT 13, Oranjestad, Aruba)
- Sint Maarten: 1 February 2024, 5 pm | AXUM Art Cafe (7 Front St, Philipsburg, Sint Maarten)
- Curaçao: 3 February 2024, 3 pm | Piso Sero (60 Madurostraat, Willemstad, Curaçao)

registering

Registration for the scout night is compulsory and can be done up until 17 February 2024. You register by emailing a short video to scoutnightsABCSSS@stimuleringsfonds.nl . In the video, you tell us the following: who you are, what you make and how long you have been doing it. Attach your contact details, CV and some images of your work to the email as well. These may be sketches or a link to a website.

The scout night will take place in Curaçao at the end of March 2024. Participants who do not live on the island will receive an allowance for travel and accommodation. The scout night is intended only for creatives who want to show their work to the jury. Apart from these people, the scout night is a closed event.

selection and development plan

If you are selected during the scout night, you will receive € 1,000 and guidance to draw up a development plan. You submit this plan to the Fund by 1 July 2024 at the latest. In the development plan, you describe how you would like to develop as a maker in the coming year, both professionally and artistically. Based on this plan, you will receive a grant of € 25,000 to actually implement the plan.

about Ana Maria Hernandez

Ana Maria Hernandez (b. 1988, Cali, Colombia) is a cultural producer, art historian and curator living and working on Aruba. She holds an M.A. in contemporary art from the University of Amsterdam. Her practice focuses on developing achievable frameworks and strategies for art presentations and audience engagement that result in meaningful experiences for communities. She also tries to bring art and cultural discourses from the Caribbean region into the general discourse, recognizing their complexity.

She is the founder of Plataforma Aruba, a non-profit arts-education organization that develops projects that focus on audience engagement and visual arts in collaboration with local artists and cultural-sector initiatives. For the past five years, she has been based on Aruba where she has carried out independent curatorial work such as the AUA EXHIBITS 21-22, freelance consultancy work for artists and organizations, as well as independent writing and project productions.