Born and raised in Curaçao, visual artist Gilleam Trapenberg (b. 1991) now lives and works in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Orbiting his homeland, his creative projects look closely at the fabric of Curaçao’s social landscape, probing at the island’s many paradoxes.
He searches beneath the portrayals and tropes of Caribbean life that dominate (Western) media cycles, using the camera to create necessary counter-images. A graduate of The Hague’s Royal Academy of Art, Trapenberg first moved to the Netherlands at 19 years old. In the years since, his works have been exhibited at institutions such as FOAM, Fotografiska Stockholm, Atelier Néerlandais and Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam.
Ambassador’s Tips:
#1 Studio Visit Gilleam Trapenberg
#2 Opening: Manifestation #53: I Must Still Grow in the Dark
#3 Premiere Genealogy of Violence, Eye Filmmuseum
#4 Rijksakademie | Open Studios 2025
#5 ft. | senakirfa A. & S*an D. Henry-Smith
#6 Yere Mi Sten | Augusta Curiel
Gilleam’s Socials: