Lem­onade B.V., a new Carib­bean startup based in St. Maarten with a mission to unlock the potential of the cultural and creative indus­tries, has begun work on a cultural practice research project entitled “Where Culture Lives.”

The research, to be con­ducted over the next 10 months, will document and analyse cultural and heri­tage practices across Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao, Saba, St. Eustatius and St. Maarten.

The initiative has been commissioned by the Dutch Ministry of Education, Cul­ture and Science OCW. Lemonade, chosen after a bidding process, will collab­orate closely with OCW and selected Caribbean partners and advisory platforms.

The interdisciplinary team of Caribbean experts is led by former St. Maarten Minister, Member of the Dutch Second Chamber and founder of Lemonade, Jorien Wuite, and includes project coordinator Elton Villareal, a consultant with Minim from Curacao.

The lead researchers are Dr. Gregory Richardson, a cultural anthropologist and researcher from Aruba, and Ludmila Duncan, former Member of Parliament in St. Maarten and consultant with Scriptis in the Nether­lands.

The research team will be working closely with part­ners and knowledge insti­tutes including the Univer­sity of St. Martin (USM), National Archeological Anthropological Memory Management NAAM in Curacao, and the “Boek­manstichting” in Amster­dam.

“Supported by an advisory platform, the team ensures the study is well-informed, culturally grounded, and based on solid research practices,” the Lemonade team said in a press release.

“We are excited to be able to conduct this important research across the six is­lands. It’s about creating a map of how our Caribbean people practice culture, how our communities en­gage with music, dance, and art, how they practice heri­tage, how cultural educa­tion is organised and what the creative realities of our islands look like. It’s not just data gathering for the sake of it — it’s storytelling, and we hope that at the end of this project, everyone in the cultural, heritage, creative and government sectors will be able to have deeper and meaningful insights of what’s happen­ing and what’s needed to make changes in the inter­est of cultural engagement and further development of our cultural sectors,” said Wuite, director and share­holder of recently estab­lished Lemonade BV.

Where Culture Lives ex­plores how people across the islands engage with cul­tural education, amateur arts, and heritage — both formally and informally. The project team are excit­ed to have teamed up with each other for this project and opportunity and hope that the findings will help shape future cultural policy and lay the groundwork for long-term monitoring and support of the sector. “We’ve never had a base­line like this before. It’s im­portant to have solid, locally informed data to support the cultural policies on our islands,” said Richardson.

“We’re doing this out of love for our islands — for the visual artists, the dancers, the teachers, and students who want to be seen, heard, and understood,” said Dun­can. “This research gives us a clear picture of how the cultural sector functions and shows where support is most needed.”

“With this kind of infor­mation, we can explore new ways to collaborate across the arts, culture, and heri­tage sectors,” added Villar­real. “We’ll be able to see how the islands can support one another — and that’s powerful in today’s world.”

The Daily Herald.