In 2005 Marian Abath started with lampworking (melting glass behind a torch). Now, in 2008, she runs a well equipped glass studio together with her husband Ciro Abath with weekly workshops with only last year over a 100 participants.

Marian has developed her style and this will show from this new exhibition.

Working behind the flame is a way of meditation, a way of stopping the world from running too fast. With glass you work faster when working slow. The melting process and the caracteristiques of the material are a unique way to express oneself.  In this exhibition discarded glass found in the cunucu is used as well as colorful Moretti Glass from Italy, Lausha and Borosilicate or laboratory glass from the US.
Nature is a mayor source of inspiration, but many times it is the glass and the process itself that decide the outcome for Marian.

The Artist:
Marian Abath (1970) has participated in several glass workshops from international renown glass artists during the last couple of years, beside of a lot of experiments and research. She gives workshops glass bead making for beginners and advanced. Recently Marian and Ciro established the Foundation ‘Terrafuse – Arubaglassceramics’ to promote the art of glass, ceramics and metals, where fire is an important unifying forming element.

• The glass furnace, Istanbul/Turkey (2006)
• Michaela Maria Moller, Germany (2006, 2007, 2008)
• JanHein van Stiphout, Netherlands (2006, 2007)
• Jens Muller, Germany, (2007)
• Frans Meeuwsen, the Netherlands (2008)
• Mieke van Schaijk, the Netherlands (ArtSilverClay, 2008)

Unoca, Prins Bernard Cultuurfonds and Stipglas have been and will be supporting this development.

The official opening of “Touch of Glass” will be on Wednesday July 2nd  at 8:00pm at Access Art Gallery located in Caya G.F. Betico Croes 16-18 (mainstreet) in Oranjestad and the collection will be on view (and available for purchase) at the gallery from 10:00am to 8:00 pm from Monday to Saturday.

Also on exhibit will be new works by Ursula Kunst ,Alfonso de Windt, Eef van Der Straten, Elisa Le Juez, and Jean Girigori.

This exhibition will be open from July 2nd to August 15th 2008
Access Art gallery
Caya G.F. Betico Croes 16-18
Oranjestad Aruba
Tel:5887837
accessart@setarnet.aw

AruAnti Art Expo 2008 is a project consisting of an exhibition of 30 paintings from Aruban artists Elvis Tromp and Edmond Tujeehut (who are planning on organizing it annually) and will take place on Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao. The schedule of the exhibition, which is already in progress started on Curacao at the Curacao Museum in April with the next stop being Bonaire at the Kas di Arte from May to June. The expo will be in Aruba at the Cas di Cultura in September. “The main objective of this project is to present images by means of paintings which will emphasize the commonality between the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba” expressed Tromp and Tujeehut.

Currently on display is the duo Exposition: Aruba, Day & Night. An exhibition with oil paintings from artist Joseph Miklojcik and photographs from Dick Miller. The exhibition can be seen at the Toyota Art Gallery 168 and will be on display till June 4th 2008. The Toyota Art Gallery is located at the L.G. Smith Blvd. 114 (Behind the CMB). For more information please call (297) 738-0168 or email artgallery168@gmail.com.

“Arte y Historia di Nos Aruba” is the name of the current exposition at Van Dorp Book & Office Dakota, Avenida Milo J. Croes # 21. It is the first exhibit from local artist Franco Koolman and will be on display until the end of this month. For more information please call Van Dorp Book & office at (297) 582-3076.

Mr. Jazz Club presents “The Masters” live! Aruba’s Jazz greats will perform Friday, May 30th starting at 8.00pm with seating starting at 7.30pm. Performances by Jazz legends Mr. Ivan Quandus, Placido Hazel, Delbert Bernabela, Franklin Granadillo, Carlos Bislip, Johnny Scharbaay with special guest Mr. Tommy Halman. Entrance fee is Afls. 35, - ($20) and appropriate attire required. Mr. Jazz is located at the Paseo Herencia across the Holiday Inn Resort. For more information or tickets please contact Cliffix at (297)582-9660, Mrs. Ingird Bislip at (297) 592-8721 or Mr. Carlos Bislip at (297) 592-6449.

As part of the Year Of Culture celebratons, the National Archive & Museum launches an almost unknown part of Aruba’s history with the Exposition “Heritage of the Slaves.” The exposition runs from March 1 to July 1 and is open from Monday to Friday from 08.00 to 4.30 pm, on Tuesday  and Thursday till 8 pm and on every first Sunday of the Month from 10.00am to 2.00pm. Entrance fee is US$ 1,50 per person and childeren 12 years and younger are free.

Aruba Tourism Authority also supports Aruba’s Year of Culture by highlighting a local personality each month throughout 2008 on the homepage of Aruba’s official website.

More support for the Year of Culture! Copa Cabana Casino at the Hyatt Regency Aruba is also bringing Aruba’s famous landmarks to the casino table. The new table layout & designs were done locally and showcase Aruba’s culture and heritage. The tables were changed during the first week of 2008 paying tribute to Aruba’s Year of Culture.

In support of Aruba’s Year of Culture, L.G. Smith Steak & Chop House  just started a new collectable campaing of silver plated coins ( four in total)  featuring Aruba’s landmarks. These coins are presented at the end of a memorable meal as a keepsakeor a  perfect souvenir.

With the start of the new year, the Faculty of Tourism Studies at the University of Aruba recognized and awarded several students with a special certificate for academic excellence. During the annual ‘New Year’s Breakfast Toast’, Dean Peterson wished all students a happy and healthy new year filled with serenity, wisdom, courage and a good sense of humor. Part of the New Year’s Breakfast Toast was to celebrate the academic achievements of a select group of students with grade point averages (GPA) over 3.50.

Students that made the final list include Godelieve Olibrice, Juan Carlos Solis, Oslin Briesen, Juan Pena, Gina Gonzalez, Maria Teresa Rios, Christine Dammers, Marielle Lacle, Diana Croeze, Stefan Oosterwaal, Rocio Burgos, Raymondt Pimienta, Carolina Raven, Carlos Terranova, and Milagros Yarasca.

Ms. Diana Herrera was awarded best academic semester performance with a GPA of 4.00, thereby enlisting her on the distinguished President’s List. The Faculty of Tourism Studies congratulates all students with their achievements, and wishes them a productive year as they set out to conquer their dreams.

Known as “one happy island” for good reason, the little island of Aruba is truly an international paradise with a character all its own. Along with its legendary days of sunshine and sugary beaches, it boasts and excellent and varied cuisine with the freshest of fish and seafood a common theme. Food on Aruba ranges from the most elegant French and Belgian restaurants serving caviar, fine wines and foie gras, to Latin-spiced Brazilian churrascharias with their natural-charcoal grilled meats, homestyle Cuban complete with authentic Cuban cigars, old-time Dutch and traditional Aruban served in historic buildings, and even Indonesian, which though it may come from far across the ocean, shares a common Dutch heritage with Aruba.

One hundred thousand people from more than sixty ethnic groups live in harmony on the island, which is a colony of the Netherlands, making for a vibrant, multi-dimensional society. The island’s inhabitants are a unique mélange of people from Latin America, Europe, Indonesia, India, Africa, Spain, Portugal, Sephardic Jews, and more. The native language, Papiamento, a blend of Dutch, Portuguese, Spanish, African, and Indian, is only spoken on the ABC islands (Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao). The typical Aruban also speaks, reads, and writes the official language, Dutch, English, and Spanish fluently, and many also speak French and German.

This book is both an introduction to and a love letter to Aruban cooking, its fine restaurants, international flavors, and easy-going island free and easy lifestyle. The reader will be guided to the best Restaurants of Aruba by Franz Sydow, successful restaurateur, sommelier. Mr. Sydow, who is Food and Beverage Director of the top-rated Westin Aruba, really knows his way around the kitchen, while co-author Aliza Green, is the award-winning author of six cookbooks and a longtime chef who has learned to love the food of Aruba in her many visits to the island.

Here are fiery Madame Janette peppers—named after a famed local bordello owner, Coecoei liqueur—with its spicy anise flavor, and herbs like culantro and lemongrass. A local shrimp farm raises organic head-on shrimp served at the best local restaurants and those who get to the local fishmarket on time get the best fish. Supermarket shelves are laden with everything from French truffle oil, Italian risotto, Dutch butter cake mix and Gouda cheese of every age and flavor, to Indonesian curry ketchup, Brazilian farofa, Venezuelan arepas, Surinamese snacks, along with a slew of exotic tropical fruits and vegetables, and an impressive selection of wines and liquors.

The book features one hundred well-tested recipes ranging from cocktails and snacks through soup, seafood, meats, desserts and baked goods, including chef creations, ethnic specialties, traditional Aruban dishes, and Dutch style cakes and cookies with Mr. Sydow’s specially selected wine and beer recommendations, drawing on his extensive knowledge of the finest Chilean, Argentinean and Spanish wines along with and island availability local Aruban beers and island rums.You can buy it in the participating restaurants: Amazonia, Aqua Grill, Blossoms, Buccaneer, Cuba’s Cookin’, Flying Fishbone, Hostaria da Vittorio, Le Dome, moomba Beach Club, Pago Pago, Papiamento, Pelican Nest, waterfront Crabhouse, Windows on Aruba. You can also find it at the Kong Hing Supercenter, La bodega Wine store, Playa Liquor, Aruba Trading, Arion Wine Company, and Pepia est wine store. The price of the cookbook is $35 plus taxes.

Story submitted by Rona Coster

Fledgling Aruban filmmaker Ivo Tonk is a winner in the Belgium One Minute Film Festival

Established in 1989 by renowned Aruban artists Elvis Lopez and Evelino Fingal, Ateliers ‘89 opened opportunities for local talents to follow art workshops in different disciplines with international art teachers. This effort resulted in many young talents who went on to study arts abroad. After a long absence Elvis Lopez has brought Ateliers ‘89 back to life last year, offering interesting workshops to youngsters, giving them opportunities to discover and develop their artistic talents.

The intensive, four-day-a-week programs conducted in the evenings for a month, feature famed visiting artists from Holland and the States, as well as Aruban artists of international repute. Last summer, Dick Tuinder, (www.dicktuinder.com) a wonderful Dutch artist well- known for his multimedia work, conducted a workshop in filmmaking that produced a number of “one minute films” by several creative young Arubans, including fifteen-year-old Ivo Tonk.

Upon returning to Holland, Dick submitted the works to a number of festivals devoted to short films, and Ivo’s two productions, titled “ A Dark & Stormy Night” and “One Minute a Day Wasted” took second and third place, respectively, in the People’s Choice Awards at the One Minute Film Festival in Ghent, Belgium. The films produced by the Aruban students were very well received at festivals in Rotterdam and Utrecht, Holland, as well.

Ivo’s accomplishment was announced at the end of the festival, which took place from October 9-20. This past Friday morning he and his mother Myriam were special guests for a screening at the Ateliers ’89 for island press members, where Ivo was presented with congratulatory gifts of a new cell phone from Digicel mobile providers and a gift certificate from Checkpoint Color.

Ivo revealed that the films, which use stop-motion technique, were made that way simply by accident, as his video camera was not working properly and not producing sound. Stop-motion is an extremely difficult style of filmmaking, which requires shooting hundreds of single frames while moving objects minutely, and then combining them to produce motion in inanimate objects. The films that feature Wallace & Grommit are a good example of modern stop-motion work with clay figures. This is quite an ambitious undertaking, but out of necessity was born creativity, and Ivo used every day objects around his home and creative sound effects to produce two very entertaining and amusing works. They are quite an accomplishment for a first-time filmmaker, and earned him international recognition. His award-winning films can be viewed online at http://www.theoneminutesjr.org.

All the films produced by Dick’s students will be screened during the Olympic Summer Games in Beijing, China in 2008, and are being submitted to various film festivals around Europe. Elvis judged Dick Tuinder not only a fine artist, but also an excellent teacher, “who truly inspires young people, motivating them to exercise their imaginations.” Dick is returning to Aruba in two weeks to film a feature film about the island and the town of San Nicolas, where he exhibited a giant mural he had produced about the town two years ago.

Ivo Tonk reports that he was very much inspired by the workshop, and encouraged by the reception of his film to continue to explore an education in art and filmmaking. His proud mother and Ateliers ‘89 board member Gerda Faber joined him in celebrating his success.

Source: The News

Photo:
Gerda Faber, Myriam Tonk, Ivo Tonk with Elvis Lopez presenting Ivo the award.

Okeanos Spa at the Renaissance Aruba Resort currently has the art works by Jeanne Ecury on show until the spa undergoes a complete makeover. The canvases make an intense and lively impact and are ready to be bought and take home. These artworks are the result of two years of hard work by the local artist. Feel free to drop by and add a wonderful piece of Aruban art to your private collection.

The Foundation “Hanchi Blou” (Blue Alley) officially starts renovation of the historic area in Oranjestad. Work will soon commence on the building “Flor di Oriente”, (originally, a club begun by the Portuguese Society of Aruba over a hundred years ago) which is now fronted by a traditional Aruban rum shop, the gathering place for many musicians, artists and individuals steeped in the old time culture of Aruba. The 5.2 million florins ($3 million) will convert the surrounding buildings and the tiny alley that divides them into a cultural center and home for the Caribbean University of Aruba and will likely open the doors of the first phase by the middle of next year. Not only will the Blue Alley be home of the university, but the historic buildings will also become a cultural center, housing a theatre, an art gallery, auditorium and art and crafts shop. The alley itself will be converted into a promenade with outdoor cafes featuring street artists and performers, beautifully landscaped, and making it a center for learning, culture, entertainment and of interest to locals and tourists alike.

“Jazz at Divi Links Aruba” is the title of the new cd by Ivan Jansen Quartet, which was launched during the introduction of the lunch menu at Windows on Aruba located at The Links at Divi Village Resort & Golf Club.
The cd is a collection of old time guests’ favorites. Besides serving patrons during the evening hours, Windows on Aruba will also be open for lunch from noon to 3.00 pm and will soon introduce Sunday Brunch as well.

The Structure is the name of the new art exhibition presented by the Foundation Insight for the Arts Aruba. It is a collective exhibition of local artists primarily devoted to abstract and avant garde work presented to the public on October 4th at 7.30pm to 11.00pm at Paradera Park # 215 and will be on display until the 10 of November. The gallery is open Monday through Friday from 09.00 am to 6.00 pm and private tours for groups can be arranged on weekends by calling 568 9168.

September is Cultural Month at the National Library of Aruba. This year the National Library together with the Pedagogical Institute of Aruba (IPA) honors Colombian author and winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature Gabriel Garcia Marquez (Gabo), with the opening exposition “Homage to Gabriel Garcia Marquez”, starting on Monday September 3 at 7:30pm at the library. This will mark a month long celebration of the author’s life, work and greatest achievements. For more information please contact the National Library at (297) 582-1580 or visit www.bibliotecanacional.aw

The Access Art Gallery is celebrating its fifth anniversary with the opening of a new collection titled: “The Naked Truth”. A total of 17 artists and the work of curator Renwick Heronimo were unveiled during the opening at the upper level gallery on August 30th and will be on display until October 11th. “The Naked Truth” is an extremely diverse collection encompassing anything from a contemporary depiction of the human form to the artist revealing the inside them, or what they feel are truths about society. Access Art Gallery is open Monday trough Saturday from 10:00am until 8:00pm located in Oranjestad’s main street Caya Betico Croes. For more information please contact Access Art at (297) 588-7837 or (297) 588-7379.