Futuro di Nos Pasado

Lecyca Angelou received support for the development of a new film. The documentary Futuro di Nos Pasado follows Lida, a collections manager at NAAM, the oldest surviving heritage institution in Curaçao. Located in the city centre, she oversees a unique collection: from Indigenous artefacts to cassette tapes containing oral histories. NAAM safeguards stories from the precolonial, colonial, and postcolonial eras, and welcomes anyone seeking a connection to the past. But now, the institution is at risk of losing its home. Due to tourism and commercial expansion, its iconic building is being transformed into a grand café. A relocation is inevitable, but no new location has been secured. Lida prepares for an intense process of packing up and saying goodbye. Futuro di Nos Pasado reveals the impact of gentrification on heritage and poses a vital question: what is lost through tourism and economic development?

Lecyca is a Manadonese/Curaçaoan-Dutch researcher and visual anthropologist, fascinated by stories of collective resilience. In her work, she addresses social inequality and underlying power structures, starting from a focus on the resilience of people and communities who — consciously or unconsciously — resist in their own way.