Street art in Willemstad

Willemstad is known for its pastel-colored colonial facades – but if you look past the Handelskade, you will discover a completely different side of the city. In neighborhoods such as Otrobanda, Punda and Scharloo, Willemstad is an open-air museum full of expressive murals, which tell stories about the history, culture and identity of Curaçao.

Street art in Curaçao is older than you might think: the oldest documented mural, Groot Santa Martha by Luigi Pinedo, dates back to 1944. But it became really popular around 2010, when Otrobanda – for a long time a neighbourhood with decay, poverty and crime – transformed more and more walls into works of art as part of a broader neighbourhood renewal.

The main driving force behind this movement is the Kaya Kaya Street Party & Art Festival, which takes place every six months. Each time one street is tackled: residents, artists and the entire neighborhood work together to transform dilapidated facades into art, celebrated with music, theater, food and dance. It was deliberately set up as a community builder, not just as an art project.

Recognizable names you’ll encounter along the way: Garrick Marchena (known for animals, eyes, and faces), Jhomar Loaiza, Nena Sanchez, Sander van Beusekom, and Ras Elijah (Earl Nicolaas), who in 1996 captured the events of May 30, 1969 in an alley in Otrobanda – one of the island’s most politically charged murals. Even the internationally renowned artist duo Haas & Hahn left their mark here, with colourful buildings in Pietermaai and at the harbour.

The themes you encounter: slavery, music, nature, spirituality and pride – sometimes exuberant and colorful, sometimes confrontational.

Otrobanda is the richest neighborhood for street art, and the place to start. Be sure to take a look at these places:

• Frederikstraat 2, 130
• Quintastraat 2 and 36
• Kijkduinstraat
• Frederikstraat
• Belvedere Street
• Rue de l’Yser 59
• Willemstraat
• Van Lennepstraat 30
• Breedestraat 12

Two additional stops not to be missed:

• The mosaic stairway – a staircase completely covered with mosaic, one of the most photographed places in the district
• The Ser’i Otrobanda viewpoint (Hoogstraat 11), accessible via the colourful stairs on the Van Lennepstraat – combine this with a breather and a view over the neighbourhood

In Punda you will find the street art mainly hidden in the alleys between the Handelskade and the Wilhelminaplein – exactly the places where you would get lost anyway if you flee the crowds.

• Breedestraat 40
• Madurostraat 24
• Wilhelminaplein
• The square at the Keukenstraat

Scharloo is less known than Otrobanda and Punda, but if you come here for the beautiful architecture, you will also find street art here:

• Bitterstraat
• Van Raderstraat