Written by Josée Thissen-Rojer

On December 7th, 2021, the new name of a school in Buena Vista is revealed in a celebratory manner. The new name is ‘Skol pa desaroyo integral Tirzo Martha’ (School for integral development Tirzo Martha). Visual artist Tirzo Martha (Curaçao, 1965), after whom the school is named, is present at the unveiling and addresses the crowd afterwards. 

In his speech, he recalls how difficult it was for him 40 years back, when he announced that he wanted to become an artist. Back then, people didn’t think you could build a decent existence as an artist. On top of that, he came from a disadvantaged neighborhood, and it wasn’t even expected he could finish any education at all. 

“The opposite appears to be true”, says Tirzo. Not only did he manage to realize his ambition, but he even garnered international fame. He travels the world for his work, to hold exhibitions, and to teach at prominent academies and universities. With great emphasis, he mentions the amounts of money involved in the world of art and culture: 100,000 euros for the enclosure of artwork for transport. Or the many professions, organizations, and companies that the industry runs on, such as insurers, transport companies, museum staff and curators. “The amounts that circulate in the world of art and culture are higher than in any other economic sector whatsoever”, he adds.  

After secondary school, Tirzo Martha follows an art education in the Netherlands and returns to Curaçao in 1991, where he takes up residency as a visual artist. He is already awarded the Colá Debrot prize for his oeuvre in 2009, at 43 years of age. It is the highest cultural distinction in Curaçao. In 2017 the Museum Beelden aan Zee in The Hague organizes a special exhibition of his work ‘No excuses’ and a monograph is published, ‘I Wonder If They’ll Laugh When I’m Dead’, that is awarded the ‘Best Dutch Book Design’ prize. Two years later he receives the prestigious Wilhelminaring, a biennial national award for sculpture in The Netherlands. A commission for an exhibition as well as a sculpture, are tied to the award. Both are realized in 2020. The exhibition ‘Het huis dat nooit af is’ (The house that’s never finished) is on display for 3 months in the CODA museum in Apeldoorn. The sculpture ‘Overcoming ourselves in order to overcome’, is added in December 2020 in the sculpture park, Sprengenpark, also in Apeldoorn. 

From May to August 2021, he’s at work alongside fellow artist, David Bade (Curaçao, 1970), in the center of the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, with the project ‘Look At Me Now’. The project is part of the exhibition ‘Slavernij’ (Slavery), but actually contemplates on it. Tirzo and David work together with a team to complete 10 sculptures, inspired by 10 characters from the exhibition ‘Slavernij’. The experience and comments of museum visitors are incorporated in the sculptures, that take form during the running time of the exhibition. It is the first time that two artists are invited to set up their studio in the art temple of The Netherlands. The fact that David and Tirzo, both from Curaçao, have made it this far is, to put it mildly, remarkable.  

Tirzo readily admits that having the elementary school named after him, is a recognition and a responsibility. The details of how he’ll implement this, he’ll discuss with the school and DOS (Dienst Openbare Scholen – Public School Services) in January of 2022. But it gives him a chance to work with people: school kids, teachers, parents, and the barrio (neighborhood). It completely fits his method of working. Just as with the aforementioned project ‘Look at me now’, where other team members and the public are all involved in it coming to fruition. The interaction with people is a recurring theme for him. In this context, Tirzo also mentions the annual project All You Can Art (AYCA) in the Kunsthal in Rotterdam and the AYCA summer school.

Tirzo doesn’t have to think twice about the source of inspiration for his work. It’s the humanity of his parents, Annie and Harold Martha(✝︎2018), and the resourcefulness of his nine-year-old son, Lucca. He admires the playfulness and creativity of his 87-year-old mother, and it inspires him. His sense of social commitment is something he was raised with. His father, Harold Martha, was a leader with the ‘Jonge Wacht’ (Young Watch) and on weekends his parents would look after kids from the boarding house. 

It’s from this sense of social involvement that in 2006 he starts a preliminary education program, together with David Bade, aimed at youth who aspire to have a creative career. After all, Tirzo has experienced firsthand that it’s very possible to have a career in the visual arts. An opportunity that David and he would also like to see granted to others. The preliminary education program Instituto Buena Bista (IBB) has an excellent reputation in The Netherlands. Dozens of youngsters have already progressed to the Art Academy or another creative course, and many of these actually complete their studies.

Besides creating opportunities for young people, there is more potential to be gained in the field of fine arts in Curaçao. Tirzo feels that there are definitely good visual artists in Curaçao. As an example of the generation after him, he mentions Ailsa Anastatia and her exhibition in the chapel of Huize Scherpenheuvel ‘Fragments of an unfolding journey’, from 2019. But to lift the entire local artistic field to a new level, some things need to change. Tirzo is keen to share his ideas on the subject.

First and foremost, the adage of the life of an artist must change drastically, states Tirzo. Nowadays artistry is more than just “making, exhibiting, and selling”. That’s why the artist has to come out of his isolation much more often. Working away in the studio all alone doesn’t contribute anything to the work or the maker. Additionally, as an artist, you should always remain critical of your work. Tirzo doesn’t refer to the technical skills here, but to what he describes as “The necessity to incorporate this feature, so the visualization of reality to the imagination is stimulated more and more”. Way too often, artists are only focused on the end product and not on how they can get the most out of the process substantially or technically. Lastly, Tirzo states that Curaçao doesn’t realize the huge creative potential it has. Many people have to improvise to survive. You have to be creative to improvise. That creativity should receive much more admiration and stimulus in our country.

The government can support this by stimulating cultural awareness, -involvement, and -entrepreneurship within the community through its policies. Tirzo thinks there should be a clearer distinction between folklore and culture. Additionally, he feels that instead of planting palm trees, the government should invest in cultural centers and ensure that downtown doesn’t turn into a coloring book. With culture, you’re much better able to distinguish yourself as a country and it’s more profitable. It’s been proven that the tourist that comes for culture, spends significantly more.  

In 2018 Tirzo is seriously ill from a heart virus. He spends a month in SEHOS, and another month and a half in a hospital in Colombia. The revalidation after his illness takes almost 4 months. Tirzo has since recovered but needs to look after himself and take medication daily. But he doesn’t let it hold him back and picks his life back up as fully as possible. In December 2018, he’s back on a plane to Amsterdam for a presentation of the ‘Hollandse Meesters’ (Dutch Masters).

Josée Thissen-Rojer with Tirzo Martha in front of the newly named school.

Traveling has become part of his life. He travels 9 months out of the year, on average, and spends 3 months in Curaçao. Even the pandemic didn’t really change things much. His island is important to him and ensures that he remains in balance, despite his success and status. “Curaçao keeps me grounded and makes sure I stay close to my own reality”, says Tirzo.

At the moment, Tirzo is busy working away in his studio. He’s working on a new series together with his team. Next year (2022), he wants to hold a solo exhibition in ‘Het Curaçaosch Museum’. The title of the series is ‘Chronisch Monochroom’ (Chronically Monochrome). The first word, chronic, refers to the heart virus that almost floored him in 2018, and for which he’ll have to keep taking medication for the rest of his life. Monochrome (the use of a single color) stands for the main color of the sculptures. Tirzo hardly uses any color in his works, if at all. He makes an exception for this exhibition and colors all the pieces white. In his sculptures, he incorporates themes about the political, religious, and social situation in Curaçao. “Those are the most important talking point here. When people meet each other and have a chat, it’s about politics, religion, or their social situation”, Tirzo clarifies. It’s the first time, since the end of the nineteen nineties, that he has a solo exhibition on his native island. 

Tirzo hopes our mentality with regard to education and formation will change in the near future. He points out that we can only get ahead as a country if everyone has an equal opportunity: “People have to understand that you shouldn’t only develop yourself, but that you should also share this with others. It’s not enough to get degrees, get a good job and make lots of money. The point is, that as human beings we should make sure that prosperity spreads across the island. If part of the community lives in poverty, everyone suffers”. That is the education he will carry out at the Skol pa desaroyo integral Tirzo Martha.

This post was made possible by the financial support of Prins Bernhard Cultuurfonds Caribisch Gebied.
Previously published in Amigoe, on December 27, 2021. Photographs of Tirzo Martha in his studio by Ken Wong.
In whole or part, this text may only be reproduced with reference to the source: Curaçao Art®️, www.curacao-art.com, and the author. Copyright of the artworks remains the property of the artist.