Aruba's National Theater and Cultural Center Since 1958

History

1949

In 1949, after recognizing a great need for a center where art and culture could be practiced, a group of local cultural associations, led by the Cultureel Centrum Aruba, joined forces to develop Aruba’s first Cultural Center. Together, the associations founded the Stichting Schouwburg Aruba (SSA): a foundation specifically aimed at building the cultural center in order to secure the development, continuation and promotion of art and culture in Aruba.

To establish the historic venue, the SSA received financial support from the government of Aruba, Sticusa (a foundation aimed at promoting cultural exchange between Suriname and the now-defunct Netherlands Antilles), the Lago Oil & Transport Company and the Royal Netherlands Steamship Co.
The building was designed by architect F. F. Zingel, who also designed Centro Pro Arte and the church of Brievengat on the island of Curaçao. In 1957, the first stone was laid by Ms. J.H.M. Kwartsz-Spruyt, marking the beginning of the construction.

The center first opened its doors on November 15, 1958 under the name Cultureel Centrum (Dutch for “Cultural Center”). Later, the foundation adopted its present name Cas di Cultura (Papiamento for “House of Culture”). To this day, Cas di Cultura is still owned and managed by SSA. Throughout the years, the foundation has seen many members, including professionals in a variety of fields, all dedicated to ensuring the sustainability of Aruba’s only theater. In recent years, the foundation has broadened its mission by initiating projects that – in addition to being entertaining – are focused on cultural and artistic education. By doing so, Cas di Cultura hopes to further engage the Aruban community, particularly the younger generation, to admire, preserve and share Aruba’s culture and the arts in general.

Message from our Director, Vicky Arens

In its 65-year existence Cas di Cultura is well established as Aruba’s prime house of culture and currently the only of its kind in the Caribbean part of the Dutch Kingdom. It has seen generations grow on and off stage and has proudly welcomed tens of thousands of visitors per year since opening its doors.

Our core values are guest friendliness, being a unifying agent, offering quality service and products and being inclusive. 2020 has shown our resilience and the absolute need for continuous cultural programming, not only as a healing balm and also for sheer feel good entertainment. In the coming 5 years we seek to renovate the building, revamp our business model and be even more open and accessible to and interesting for the public on a daily basis.

In 2024 and 2025 we'll be looking for partnerships and patrons for the realization of our renovation project, which will ensure that this and future generations will be able to come into contact with the arts and have the proper expression opportunities and platforms. We are eager to hear from you in this respect but feel free to contact us for any other questions and ideas.

Mission

Through the organization, presentation and stimulation of all facets of arts and culture, Cas di Cultura aims to inspire.

Vision

To be the cultural and artistic heart of the community.

Cas di Cultura logo

Just like art and culture evolve, Cas di Cultura's logo evolved with time. With its diverse users in mind, Cas di Cultura's new logo is a clean, visual, and modern depiction of our organization.
The blue triangle represents a sound speaker and the play button for music, the purple swirl portrays the free from of the (visual) arts, the red star referring to Aruba's flag and red as the color of passion, the green circle of the dance pirouette, and the orange soil colored square represents the stage's square.

Supervisory Board members

Carlos Tapias

President

Gershwin Lee

Board member

Esther Pezij-broeksema

Secretary

Yuraima Merencia

Board member

Nicole Booi

Treasurer

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