Asyla resides on the north coast of the island of Curaçao in the countryside Bandabou (lowlands) in the area of Tera Kora, She was born at Cher Asiel in Willemstad in 1953.
Her arts, creative writing, and coaching diverse techniques in healing are practices of 45 years including since ’77 performing in singing in the Netherlands next to studies and working there. Asyla expresses direct from the heart and includes metaphoric issues in the visual and language aspect. She’s an Academical female, now a senior, and volunteers in Kids Arts Culture programs in Bandabou countryside of Curacao..
In past (in’60s) Asyla was the only child in the family to show interest in Yoga-techniques during session meetings with Indian business family friends. At those times she was also practicing sketching buildings. In ’69 the family went off overseas and during her stay in the Netherlands (until 81), her interest grew further into breathing and bodywork but also a macrobiotic diet style. Afterward living there with her partner, she took Egyptian Stretching Exercises incorporated with Gland, Breathing techniques, and balanced nutrition from the Mazdaznan philosophy. With a long performing hobby as a singing duet in Eindhoven and having a secretary work, Asyla decided to involve with Visual Arts classes at Centrum Voor Schone Kunsten -now the Academy of Visual Arts in Eindhoven.
When back home in Curacao in 1981 Arts became her favored subject in her daily life while struggling with offering bodywork because in those times interest was on a low flame in lower Antilles. With dissatisfactory relationships in the following years, Asyla established herself as a full-time self-supported creative and peddled back and forth to Bonaire island until she found herself staying there for quite some time and periodically also with her kids. In Bonaire, she was offered to give kids Art via Social Government programs and Youth-Cultural Centrum Bonaire. Also, in 1987 she received a commission work for the installation of coral stones Flamingos designs on sidewalks in the main town of Kralendijk, Then afterward a donated trip from the American society group was realized to advance studies in Manhattan Art Student League, to enhance her skills in portraits in oil and figurative art and to inspire in another surrounding. From here on organized solo exhibits and group exhibits started growing in Bonaire and Curacao
Not until 1990 had the Holistic part finally become more meaningful to offer and so Asyla took the chance to first regained her travels to the Netherlands for a follow-up‘ Meridian health study sessions at ‘Touch for Health’-center Hof van Axen in Drenthe and later on visited and performed at her former Art Center, These took place while appointments in 1990 to also exhibiting at Galerie Bremmer plus joining Art group travel to Paris. Back home Asyla volunteered to offer stretching methods to local groups while involving herself with her newly ’89 founded foundation offering art at Community Centers around, Also interviewed artists from all grounds for articles in two local papers in Curacao,
During the second half of the 90s, Asyla got many chances again for Exhibitions overseas. In Eindhoven, The Hague and Germany Berlin, and Bremen for the title Hidden Love’ -a tour which started at Bonaire Art Gallery from Bonny Kerr and Michael Gayner, then Curacao Marriott Hotel to oversees mentioned locations. Her following gaze with art study proceeded in 1999 and 2000 at Fontys-Tilburg for Conceptual Art including Textile, Performing, Photography, and Art History when transformation started happening in the method of doing art and performance poetically after expressing surrealism using contemporary issues. Settled back in Curacao after her studies in the Netherlands funded by Dutch Government there (kunstenaarsregeling), a freelance function was offered as an Art teacher at Curacao-American Preparatory school which endured 4 years. Starting Millenium Asyla also managed to become a certified therapist (2001) and as a certified therapist gave way to do healing works until 2018 at established centers on a payroll. This brought about buying her house where Funark Center is established in Tera Korra in Bandabou countryside of Curacao. With an adjusted Reiki master’s degree, Asylas’ extra touch of healing hands was profitable for many people during health sessions.
Her self-supportive life maintained was, by all means, a survival offering also Arts/Craft at markets while the personal works are now historical. While volunteering to give classes in Curaçao and Bonaire she produced poetry booklets for her Exhibits at Galleries, Curaçao Museum, World Trade Center in Aruba, Curaçao, Bonaire, Sta Domingo, Barbados, Suriname, Holland, and Germany. An attempt to exhibit in Winward islands failed through a hurricane. St.Martin and St.Eustatius are her rooted family islands.
Poetry started in 1985 with rhythmical themes while in Bonaire; Influential and uplifting instincts to inspirational lyrics were to stimulate her niche while jotting down thoughts in Asyla’s favorite English language. Her background migrant family to the lower part where she was born kept their custom in cuisine, idiom, and manners while the Curacao native tongue in Papiamentu needed to be adjusted. And as two cultural families included the Dutch descent, the three languages became topics to articulate better in courses.
A new form of prose caught Asylas’ attention with a sense of epiphany style through intuition. An urge came to change to more training and together with fundraising travel to the US she took advantage of the new renaissance vision for diaspora writers that evolved. This was in 2012 organized creative writing workshops at Africana University study dept. in Providence, Rhode Island by Callaloo org. This new name ‘Diaspora’ in mind;’.according to her not been mentioned as yet in her country, was heard a year before on a journey to Ghana in 2011/2012 which was an opportunity for an In-residence Cultural Arts trip for the contemporary arts and researching the municipal community of Tema and land produce NGO in Otiakrom. And through acquainted with Accra’s democratic roots movement to have tilted cultural visual arts to the foreground and a brand new theatre, furthermore, the Rural Perma-Culture in Otiakrom, these altogether changed the panorama of Asylas vision and learned about the NGO significance with the African rural mission with outdoor funding. The diaspora experiences were extraordinary and were extracted in an essay titled “Ghana through sunglasses of an Antillian artist’ with issues including focussing on the art survival of vendors, architectural history, movements in contemporary arts (mostly abroad), and conversations from old schoolers showing the developments and stories since the ’80s in democratic Ghana.
After both travels to Ghana and USA- another trip took place when the batik enchanting patterns and designs in Ghana put the trigger to further discovery. Suriname was by far the best location nearby to do ample studies of designs arts and clothing. (Barbados during Arts/Craft Expo in 2005 until 008 was Asylas’ first experience). The occurrence of a year before Carifesta participation in 2013, led to the following year’s Batik study. The first was with a delegation from Curacao to join a folklore group, writing, and visual and a year after 2014 became a funded trip for Batik studies, whereas nowadays a profitable offering in textile easy method study to kids in volunteer projects in Bandabou Curacao.
With connections around, 2017 Asylas writing, the book ‘Enliven Emotions became reality. The polishing process was done by a famous local connoisseur in English writing and anthropologist in Suriname, and in 2017 first launching took place there. The fully illustrated Prose writing with photos, and self-developed paintings was secondly launched at Curacao House in The Hague. Thereafter ‘Enliven Emotions’ which was published in the USA, was laid on the shelf at Bruna Shopping Mall Zuikertuintje in Curacao. In the same year, it was introduced to Bonaire while organizing a group exhibit and involved with designing a signature of this artist to which ‘remembering the flamingo coral stones designs on both pathways in Kralendijk’ was structured 30 years ago.
Today Asyla fuses Healing with Arts and Poetry and organizes, launches, and fundraise through her founding Funark ’89 non-profit. When all the while offering Arts to Youth in Willemstad and Bonaire she now recently since 2018, is committed through her Funark activities to Community in Bandabou rural area to voluntarily offer Kids Arts Cultural Funding Programs. Furthermore, her desire is to work with other creatives to interchange in planning projects in Bandabou while researching the areas for continuing blogging and writing. Blogging site: https://bandabow.wordpress.com/
Since acquainted with Ghana and USA and outdoor relations and admiration for her work done in the community, an honoree visit was launched and Asyla was awarded in 2015 by a diaspora organization at an event in Dallas with the mission of ‘Heal the World Inc. Also, a cultural token was received in 2019 from Suriname groups including the writers’ cause.
The latest exhibit includes Rastro – a group exhibit via AruAnti org. from Aruba exposing there and Bonaire and Curacao. After this, a Sustainable Trade Expo in 2018 was organized through I ammade org., and installation work was shown called recycled attitude together with monographic and mosaic art pieces,
The idea is to realize Projects via Asylas’ Art-residence with Funark Foundation after uplifting and changing the garden surrounding, Inviting established artists/writers and researchers to a Fund planning Project in Lower Antilles Bandabou rural area is giving them the chance to explore and interchange as experienced ones into another country with Community Programs. Another program for 2023 is presenting Asyla’s 45y celebrating monographic works and video presentation to outdoors,
2023 Funark activities please ask for program details at Email address: atenholt002@gmail.com or funartseela@gmail.com
Donations are always welcome: via E-banking system or Western union to address to
Asyla ten Holt-Curacao-CW/Dutch Antilles – +599 9 5268813 ( app): Kaya Piedra Machu 37 atenholt002@gmail.com or
Online banking:
Maduro & Curiel’s Bank, Plasa Jojo Correa 2-4 Willemstad, Curaçao. Swiftcode: MCBKCWCU account: 332208810 Asyla ten Holt– Kaya Piedra Machu 37, Tera Korra, Curacao
Also scroll on this platform to the post: 2021 Creativity Kids Program and Fund campaign
And subject at: https://www.buzzsprout.com/737531/episodes/9228200-art-culture-in-residence-in-uplift-countryside-curacao
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