Sint Maarten welcomes artists from across the Dutch Caribbean this week for the launch of
Creative Kingdom Lab, an initiative by Lemonade, in collaboration with Jerry Gumbs, also known
as rapper and artist Juni Martina. The initiative brings together artists and creative thinkers from
across the islands to explore how art, culture and creative collaboration can inspire fresh
perspectives on democracy, identity and the future of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
Following an online workshop on Kingdom relations earlier this week, participating artists are
arriving on Sint Maarten for further creative exchange and the first Creative Kingdom Lab, taking
place on Saturday 14 November at Axum Art Café in Philipsburg.
On November 17th the Kingdom Summit will take place on Sint Maarten as organized by the
governments of Aruba, Curaçao, Sint Maarten and the Netherlands. They will talk about
cooperation, mutual respect and the future of the Kingdom. The initiators of the Lab believe
those questions are not only political or legal. They are lived and cultural as they shape how
people experience identity, language, mobility, recognition, power and belonging, every day, on
every island. Yet artists and communities are rarely part of that conversation.
The pilot therefor brings together winners of the Where Culture Lives Artist Prize and artists
from Sint Maarten for a day of creative exchange and collective experimentation. Building on the
connections and insights generated through the recent Where Culture Lives cultural mapping
research across the six Caribbean islands, the Lab seeks to create space for new voices, ideas
and artistic perspectives on shared societal challenges.
Jorien Wuite, initiator of Creative Kingdom Lab and founder of Lemonade.: “We want to bring
different voices and perspectives into conversations about the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Art
and culture offer us the freedom to question existing structures, challenge assumptions and
imagine new possibilities for collaboration.”
Preparations for the Lab are already underway. Earlier this week, participating artists joined an
online workshop on Kingdom relations, democracy, history and collaboration, with contributions
from facilitators including Lisette Delgado. As travelling artists arrive on Sint Maarten, the
program continues on Friday with a workshop exploring sustainable development, climate
change and resilient island communities, connecting artistic perspectives with architecture and
design.
The central questions of CKL are: How can we live, work and create something beautiful
together, as one Caribbean and as one Kingdom? And can creative practice help us imagine, and
practise, democracy differently? It is emphasized that there is no right answer. Artists are asked
to be critical, different, contradictory, hopeful or uncomfortable. All perspectives are welcome,
including doubt about the Kingdom itself.
This Saturday, artists will work collectively to transform their reflections into creative ideas and
works in progress at Axum Art cafe. The Lab intends to conclude with a sharing moment for
students with artistic aspirations at Axum Art Café, creating opportunities for further dialogue
and collaboration.
Jerry Gumbs, co-initiator of Creative Kingdom Lab: “Art allows us to explore questions that don’t
always have straightforward answers. By bringing artists from different islands and disciplines
together, we want to create space for unexpected perspectives, new connections and collective
imagination. Creative Kingdom Lab is not about prescribing outcomes, but about discovering
what becomes possible when we create together.”
Initiated through Lemonade, Creative Kingdom Lab reflects its commitment to cultivating
creative communities and developing new platforms for cultural exchange, innovation and
collaboration. The pilot is made possible with the supportive grant of Fonds voor
Cultuurparticipatie, with local production support from Menelik Arnell (Kizzy) and Axum Art
Café as the host venue.