Julian Isenia
2015

This preliminary research and fieldwork project seeks to gain an in-depth knowledge of ‘queer’ subjects and lives of the Dutch Caribbean community, and of the way in which these confirm, disrupt, reiterate, reject, or maintain the logic of what is often posited as a ‘global queerness’.

The proposed field work involves collecting source materials related to a number of case studies in the areas of film, literature, theatre and cultural performance, combining immersive participatory observation, in-depth interviews, focus group discussions and cultural performance analysis, as well as archival research on the island of Curacao.

It is a first, but significant, step in preparation for a broader doctoral research to observe the tension between queer representations and the notion of decolonization in the Dutch Antilles, and how cultural and artistic practices on the islands serve to reflect critically on this relationship. It references recent developments in LGBT rights on the Dutch Caribbean islands and contributes to a much-needed critical examination of same-sex discourses in the Dutch Caribbean.

Wigbertson Julian Isenia originates from the Island of Curacao and has an MA degree in Arts and Culture (University of Amsterdam), and two bachelor’s, in interdisciplinary social sciences (University of Utrecht) and Theatre Studies (University of Amsterdam).