Curacao’s Premio Cola Debrot for Ellen Spijkstra

This year the Premio Cola Debrot in Curaçao was awarded in the visual arts category.
It was announced in April that the recognition went to artist Ellen Spijkstra. The award ceremony took place on May 4th, the birthday of the prize’s name giver, Cola Debrot.

Konseho Kultural Kòrsou (Cultural Council) selected Ellen Spijkstra to receive the award. The prize has been awarded since 1968 to individuals who have excelled in architecture, art, dance, music, literature, theater or science. The award includes a certificate, a tiny golden laraha flower on a ribbon, and a cash prize of 5,000 guilders.

Ellen Spijkstra (1957) was born and raised in the Netherlands. She was educated at the Minerva Academy in the Netherlands, the Rochester Institute of Technology, and the New York Institute of Photography. She is a visual artist by profession.

In 1980, a year after completing her education, she and her husband, Eric de Brabander, moved to Curaçao. In 1985-1986, she took a summer course in glassblowing in New York and then theory courses in clay and glaze techniques. In 1991, she completed a photography course at the New York Institute of Photography.

Ellen Spijkstra made Curaçao her home and founded “Studio Girouette” a studio where she worked and taught for 30 years until 2012. Once she ceased teaching, she focused on her personal growth and creative development.

Her work is inspired by living in Curaçao and the local nature, including the water, light, and decay processes; Ellen incorporates pieces of rock and coral in her ceramic sculptures. She also integrates photographs of corals in her work using a unique and sophisticated method. The artist creates sculptures that vary in size, from small to monumental and tends to work in series. 

In 2019, she held a solo exhibition at Het Curacaosch Museum called “An Artistic Journey”. It provided an insight into her work and different stages of her artistic career. 
In the following pandemic period, she captured the lockdown of 2020 and 2021 in the ceramic series Cocooning. She recreated in ceramic all kinds of shells she found on the beaches but magnified many times.

Ellen Spijkstra has taught at institutions such as the Instituto Buena Bista (IBB) in Curaçao, Ateliers ’89 in Aruba, and Taller Escuela Arte Fuego in Caracas. 
She has also worked as an artist in residence at Taller Varadero in Cuba (7th Havana Biennial), Resen International Ceramic Colony in Resen, and Shangyu Celadon Modern International Ceramic Center in Shangyu, China.

For years Ellen has been one of three members of the organizing committee for the Open Atelier Route. She is a board member of the Sculpture Route and Garden at Blue Bay. In that capacity, Ellen had the opportunity to receive and tour Princess Beatrix in November 2021.

Moreover, Ellen has been a member of the International Ceramics Council since 2018. Her exceptional work is featured in the online exhibition “Virtual Show AIC-IAC Members Best 2022,” which can be accessed through the following link: Virtual Show AIC-IAC Members Best 2022. Once the connection opens, you can look for her work by navigating, but looking up her name under Artworks is faster. By clicking the icon, the site jumps to Ellen Spijkstra’s work. Click on the picture to see the information on the artwork.

Spijkstra’s art has been widely recognized and appreciated, being featured in both public and corporate collections such as Maduro & Curiel’s Bank N.V., Avila Beach Hotel, the Central Bank of Curaçao and St. Maarten, Het Curacaosch Museum, and the Curaçao Maritime Museum.

Click here for Ellen Spijkstra’s bio on Curaçao Art.

The above text may be reproduced only with mention of the source: Curaçao Art®️ www.curacao-art.com. Image rights of the artworks remain the property of the artist.