Nola Hatterman Institute

Nola Hatterman Institute

The Nola Hatterman Institute is an art school and cultural institution based in Paramaribo, Suriname, founded to promote visual arts, portraiture, and art education with an emphasis on Afro-Surinamese and Indigenous heritage. The institute connects with international art networks and has collaborated with museums, cultural centers, and academic institutions across the Caribbean, South America, Europe, and North America to develop collections, exhibitions, and pedagogical programs.

History

The institute traces its origins to teacher and painter Nola Hatterman and the postcolonial arts movement in Suriname, emerging amid dialogues involving figures such as Anton de Kom, Frans Blow, and Henri Frans de Ziel. Early patrons and collaborators included members of the Paramaribo municipal council, representatives from the Ministry of Culture, and cultural activists influenced by intellectuals like C.L.R. James, Aimé Césaire, and Édouard Glissant. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s it engaged with regional currents represented by the Caribbean Festival of Arts, the Congress of Black Culture, and exchanges with institutions like the Rijksmuseum, the Tropenmuseum, and the Museum of Contemporary African Diasporan Arts. The institute’s development was shaped by visits and workshops involving artists and scholars connected to names such as Ossip Zadkine, Corneille, Wifredo Lam, Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera, and Jacob Lawrence, and by solidarity from diasporic networks invoking figures like Marcus Garvey and Kwame Nkrumah. Periods of expansion coincided with partnerships with universities and galleries including the University of Suriname, the University of Amsterdam, Goldsmiths, SOAS, the National Gallery of Jamaica, the Museum of Modern Art, and the British Council.

Campus and Facilities

The campus in Paramaribo occupies heritage buildings and studio spaces proximate to landmarks like the Saint Peter and Paul Cathedral, Fort Zeelandia, and Independence Square. Facilities include painting studios, printmaking workshops, sculpture studios, a gallery resembling exhibition spaces in the Stedelijk Museum and the Centre Pompidou, and a conservation room inspired by practices at the National Archives of Suriname and the Rijksmuseum Conservation Department. Technical equipment and resources reflect exchanges with institutions such as the Royal Academy of Arts, the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts, the Instituto Superior de Arte, the Pratt Institute, and the Cooper Hewitt, while archives contain works and documentation linked to collectors and curators from the Van Gogh Museum, Koppelman Gallery, and the Studio Museum in Harlem.

Academic Programs and Curriculum

Programs emphasize studio practice, art history, and community-based projects framed by methodologies informed by scholars and practitioners from institutions like the University of the West Indies, the University of Guyana, Yale School of Art, Columbia University School of the Arts, and the New School. Coursework covers portraiture techniques connected to traditions exemplified by Rembrandt, Édouard Manet, and John Singer Sargent, printmaking echoing Käthe Kollwitz and Dox Thrash, and sculpture referencing Auguste Rodin and Louise Bourgeois. Pedagogical collaborations have involved guest lecturers and visiting artists associated with names such as Ana Mendieta, Kara Walker, El Anatsui, Kehinde Wiley, and Yinka Shonibare. Research-led modules engage archives and collections from the British Museum, the Smithsonian Institution, the Louvre, the Museo del Barrio, and the National Portrait Gallery, while internship pathways connect students with galleries and museums including the Tate Modern, the Walker Art Center, the Art Institute of Chicago, and the Centre for Contemporary Art Ujazdowski Castle.

Notable Faculty and Alumni

Faculty and visiting instructors have included painters, sculptors, printmakers, and curators linked to international contemporary art scenes and institutions such as the Royal College of Art, the Pratt Institute, and the University of the Arts London. Alumni have pursued careers and residencies at foundations and programs including the Rijksakademie, the MacDowell Colony, the Cité Internationale des Arts, and the Venice Biennale; they have exhibited alongside artists like Marlene Dumas, Yoko Ono, Ai Weiwei, Marina Abramović, and Anish Kapoor. Graduates feature in collections and events organized by the National Gallery of Canada, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, the National Gallery of Art, the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, the Hammer Museum, the Serpentine Galleries, and the São Paulo Biennial. The institute’s networks extend to curators and critics affiliated with Artforum, Flash Art, Frieze, Apollo, and Hyperallergic.

Cultural Impact and Community Engagement

The institute plays a central role in Surinamese cultural life, participating in citywide festivals and public art programs alongside cultural organizations such as UNESCO, the Caribbean Community, the Pan American Health Organization, and local NGOs. Community initiatives include mural projects, youth workshops, and collaborative exhibitions in partnership with civic sites like the Central Market, historic plantations, and cultural centers modeled on the National Cultural Foundation. International cultural diplomacy and exchange projects have connected the institute with embassies, bilateral cultural institutes, and networks associated with the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the French Institute, the Goethe-Institut, the British Council, and the U.S. Embassy cultural affairs departments. Through these activities, the institute contributes to heritage preservation efforts coordinated with agencies and collections including the National Archives of Suriname, the World Monuments Fund, ICOM, and regional memory projects alongside representatives from Caribbean museums and Latin American cultural ministries.

Category:Art schools in Suriname