Foto: Kenny Ranking
Fundashon Plataforma Kultural on Bonaire and Rewriters010 (the street art platform of Hiphop in je Smoel) in Rotterdam have worked together before in the field of cultural education and cultural exchange. In 2020 this resulted in the start of Street Colors Bonaire, a street art project for the island that gives the local street art culture a boost.
In this context, the expertise of artists from Rotterdam, who go to Bonaire to share it with both young people and upcoming artists there, is used. In November it was the turn of the Italian Edoardo 'Dodici' Trionfera and for a week now, the artist Tymon de Laat from Rotterdam has been active in giving workshops and realizing works of art on Bonaire. "For me it is a nice experiment to play with parts of the identity of Bonaire", says de Laat when creating his first mural on the island. And also giving his first workshop to the local youth is nice: "Very nice, and the children work very hard!"
Tymon's main motivation to come to Bonaire is to be able to give a cultural incentive to young people who may not yet see the profession of artist as a feasible goal. He proves that it is. After all, with more than 17,000 followers on Instagram, Tymon is certainly not a small name in the street art scene. His specialization is large, colored portraits that he builds in detail with spray cans. The people he depicts are mostly people he encountered during his travels through South and Central America. His love of travel is another aspect that made the trip to Bonaire interesting for him. "I like to discover how other countries and communities view life. I can't do that with a short holiday, but with a stay of 5 weeks I can go a long way." Tymon is on Bonaire until 28 February.
More information about the project can be found at
www.streetcolorsbonaire.com
www.melikepainting.com
www.hiphopinjesmoel.nl
Instagram:
@streetcolorsbonaire
@tymondelaat
This project is made possible by Fonds 21, Fonds voor Cultuur Participatie and Openbaar Lichaam Bonaire.