Photo: (Art Rules Aruba)
It's always tricky to remember that people actually live on the islands where we dream of vacationing. Can you imagine waking up to white sand beaches, palm trees and a warm blue sea every single day? Like, in your hometown? Um ... yeah. Amazing.
It's also tough to picture heaps of raw talent wanting to be nurtured and developed in a place where artistic training isn't abundant. A Caribbean home base may render sandboxes and swimming pools unnecessary, but it would be a shame to leave out stages and studios to boot.
Good news: Now young Arubans have an outlet to sharpen their creative skillz. Through Art Rules Aruba, teens and early-twentysomethings on the island get the chance to study dance, theater, music and fine arts with exceptional instructors in a summer intensive designed to nurture talent and self-expression. The program is an initiative of The Pancake Gallery Foundation, an arts fund created by twin sisters Ira-Sharay Kip and Ayra-Anandra Kip in 2007. Though the Kips were born in Amsterdam, not Aruba, they are natives of Aruba and have thus made it a mission to connect international artists from across the spectrum. They celebrate diversity not just through culture, but in a melting pot of artistic outlets.
The Pancake Gallery (tagline: "We flip it!") first brought instructors to Aruba just last summer. It culminates in a great big arts festival rich with performances, exhibits and presentations showing off Aruban youth who've had the chance to study performance and painting, photography, design, fashion, filmmaking, DJ'ing, rap and poetry.
Seeing how enthusiastic and celebratory participants are is a good reminder not to take our own US arts programs for granted. Moreover, it's a perfect catalyst to demand adequate -- nay, abundant -- federal funding for art and music curricula here. After all, self-expression knows know boundaries. Art rules.
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