Caribbean Street Art in Aruba: San Nicholas murals

As we drive into San Nicholaas, the second town of Aruba, the morning’s already hot but nothing much is stirring. The building by which we park, with shutters pulled down against the sun, looks just like any other.

Just like any other, that is, except for the street art mural. There are striking eyes and Amerindian face staring out from above the entrance with swirling peacock feathers for hair.

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We’ve arrived at the Artisa gallery and headquarters of Aruba Art Fair. We are here to discover more about the street art in Aruba and a painting workshop with local artist Vanessa Paulina. Vanessa is busy painting a mural on the walls of a local shop, which is yet to be finished.

The subject is a string of Indian beads like those that would have been traded by the first inhabitants of Aruba. It’s ornamented with African masks and Indian faces. It features the head of the Spanish queen who funded Christopher Columbus to adventure here.

Vanessa tells me how the beads represent a circle of life that connects us all, from the native Indians, the colonists and traders, to the artists of today.

Exploring the Aruba art scene

She’s a well known artist on Aruba, with paintings on exhibition in the Historical Museum at Fort Zoutman. Vanessa has plenty of experience of community street art projects, from her time studying and living in the Netherlands.

The mural has been commissioned by the Ministry of Culture. As we walk around we realise that it’s only the latest in a Caribbean street art gallery that covers the buildings of San Nicholaas.

This may be the Caribbean, but it’s an unexpected contrast to the white sand beaches and palm leaf beach umbrellas that you’ll find elsewhere on the island.

By comparison with the bustling shopping malls of Oranjestad, packed with cruise visitors, San Nicholaas feels sleepy and somewhat down-at heel. When the oil refinery closed in 2009, people and jobs moved away from the town.

There was little to bring tourists here unless they were driving to the popular Baby Beach nearby. But since the Aruba Art Fair first took place in September 2016, there’s a new reason to visit this quiet corner of the island. That’s the San Nicholas Aruba street art.

The birth of street art in Aruba

Art Fair organiser, Tito Bolivar, told me how he’d come up with the idea after a trip to Colombia. He’d seen so much amazing art on the streets of Bogota.

“I came back to the island and thought – why not here?” he told me. In less than a year the project took shape, with the first Aruba Art Fair being held in September 2016.

Bordallo II

One of the first international street-artists that Tito invited to be part of the project was Bordalo II from Portugal. Bordalo II is known for recycling rubbish to create his large scale “Trash Animal” pieces.

One example is the iguana that we saw clinging to the side of the building in San Nicholaas. To create it the team drove around the island, picking over car wrecks, scrap metal and rubbish washed up on the beach.

Leon Keer

Next on board with the project was Leon Keer of the Netherlands who is known for his surrealist pieces. In a disused building next to the old customs house, he painted the 3D cardboard ‘Pan’ box. This is a representation of a well known brand of corn meal from nearby Venezuela.

The custom house doorways on either side of it are a reference to the large numbers of Venezuelans who arrive on Aruba for economic reasons. The mainland is only 500 miles away – watch the video here.

Bond Truluv and Guache

As we circled the side streets around the gallery we found striking murals covering the buildings wherever we looked. In the parking lot, was a piece by Bond Truluv of Germany, which he painted when he arrived as a ‘tryout’ piece.

Bond then went on to create a large dolphin, next to the “Daddy Cool” mural by Amsterdam Streetart. My favourite murals were the colourful carnival-like faces of a man and woman by Guache from Colombia. This covered the entire height of a building.

As Tito gave me an impromptu tour, he told me how his initial idea for an art fair expanded to eventually include seven different art related projects.

Before the main art fair there was a culinary competition with a twist. Six teams from Aruba’s cookery schools, each headed by an executive chef, were tasked to create a new desert inspired by canvases from local artists.

There was an auction dinner and a fashion show to showcase the work of local and international designers. Video interviews of local artists were filmed by Conocemi, an Aruban TV show.

Community involvement

During the art fair itself, Tito was able to enlist the support of Aruba’s Ministries of Culture and Tourism as well as sponsorship from Aruba’s banks and business community. This enabled the artists themselves to sell their artwork in outdoor galleries without any charge.

Several empty buildings were loaned so that Aruban art organisations could hold their own exhibitions as part of the show and provide a space for more established contemporary artists.

Tito’s mother and co-organiser Diana Croe showed me the mosaic benches around the town. These were created as part of a community project with different groups contributing the designs. The work is planned to continue with more benches and canvas sun shades which will be painted in bright colours.

ArtisA – Art is Aruba

Despite the success of the Aruba Art Fair, which is now established as a regular event, Tito has plenty more plans in the pipeline. His hope is to use the Art Fair and other projects to infuse art into the local community on Aruba.

Tito he told me “I’m not an artist myself, but I feel it’s important to make a change. I see a lot of talent, and beautiful art, I want to start tapping into that talent and pushing those artists forward.”

The website ArtisA (standing for Art Is Aruba) organisation has been established to feature information about the artists and artisans on Aruba, so that they can be more easily found.

With so much creative energy on Aruba it seems sure that this year’s Aruba Art Fair will be even bigger and better. Check for announcements of the next date on the Aruba Art Fair website and social channels: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook.

For an alternative taste of the Caribbean on Aruba, head to San Nicholaas for a walk around the streets to see all the murals. Call in at the Artisa HQ and gallery at Theaterstraat 20, San Nicolaas, Aruba.

San Nicholaas is around 30 mins drive from Oranjestad at the south-east end of the island and buses run several times an hour. A morning seeing the street-art could happily be combined with lunch at the quirky Charlie’s Bar, and a relaxing afternoon on nearby Baby Beach.

Where to Stay: Hotels in Aruba

During my week in Aruba, I stayed at the Amsterdam Manor Beach Resort, a delightful hotel that’s just across the road from Eagle Beach. The hotel is family owned and was built 25 years ago.

It was designed in traditional style with Dutch gables, painted in the warm yellow that you see everywhere on Aruban buildings. I was extremely comfortable, sharing a suite with two bedrooms and a first floor balcony looking towards the sea.

My room was furnished in traditional Caribbean style with dark wood furniture, brightly coloured walls and citrus shades of lime, lemon and tangerine.

The outside areas of the hotel were beautifully maintained with paved areas, trees and immaculate planting. There’s a welcoming pool area and the shady Mango restaurant, where we had breakfast.

The hotel is ideal for couples who want to relax by the pool or on the beach. This is a well located base for exploring Oranjestad and all the other sights of Aruba.

The staff could not have been more friendly and helpful. They even have a dedicated Romance Co-ordinator to help you organise your beach wedding or celebration event. The Fofoti trees opposite the hotel are a favourite for wedding photos.

Passions on the Beach restaurant where we ate one evening is an incredibly romantic setting to have a cocktail and dinner as the sun sets over the ocean.

For more information, visit the Amsterdam Manor Beach resort website or follow them on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest. Address: J.E. Irausquin Blvd. 252, P.O. Box 1302, Oranjestad, Aruba.

Visitor Information for Aruba

For more information to plan your holiday in Aruba, visit the Aruba Tourism Website or follow them on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube or Pinterest.

More articles from Aruba

My 10 favourite things about Aruba
Hiking in Aruba: Exploring Arikok National Park
Travel With Kat: Where and What to eat and drink on Aruba

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Thanks to Aruba Tourism for hosting* my week’s stay in Aruba to discover the island.

* More info on my policies page

This article is originally published at Heatheronhertravels.com

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