In August 2023, the Long Live Heritage project was launched as a collaboration between the Monuments Fund Aruba (SMFA) and Dutch photographer Monique Anröchte, with financial support from the Cultural Participation Fund.

For the kick-off, we organized three instameets where four photographers from the Netherlands joined as photo coaches to inspire participants. An instameet is a gathering of Instagrammers focused on personal encounters, where the group sets out to explore, rediscover, and photograph an area.

Together with various photography and heritage enthusiasts, we explored the heritage and culture of Rancho, Playa, and San Nicolas. During these initial instameets, organized in collaboration with our cultural partners such as the National Archaeological Museum of Aruba, the Fundacion Museo Arubano, and Stichting Rancho, the group visited various organizations, engaging with Aruba’s tangible and intangible heritage and capturing it to preserve for future generations.

From these first instameets, a group of passionate volunteers emerged. Connected to the project and SMFA, they now organize monthly mini-instameets for around 20 participants, exploring small houses, historic buildings in different districts of Aruba, as well as the traditions and people behind Aruba’s cultural heritage.

Not only are photos of our heritage captured, but storytellers are also involved, ensuring that the stories behind the monuments and our cultural heritage are documented.

Thanks to the instameets, a community of over 60 enthusiasts has formed, actively participating in various gatherings. In addition to the instameets, a monthly photo contest is held on Instagram with a special theme, such as details of heritage, a color, or a photographic approach like reflection. Participants are encouraged to view and capture the monuments from different perspectives, with the results shared on Instagram, reaching a wider audience.

Current Status: Thirteen challenges have been completed with 13 winners, resulting in over two thousand photos on Instagram. The first and second place winners will have the chance to participate in the project’s exhibition, scheduled for spring 2025.

Anyone interested in joining can participate in the latest challenge, which can be found on Instagram at @langlevenheterfgoed and @monumentsfundaruba.

To join, read the challenge and tips, remember the hashtag of the month, and simply go out with your phone or camera. Choose an area to explore and look for historical houses or buildings. Capture them and share them on Instagram with the month’s challenge hashtag and #langlevenheterfgoed.

The project will run for two years and will conclude in 2025 with an exhibition and publication featuring the collected photos, challenges, and stories from the volunteers. We’ll also continue to keep our strong WhatsApp community active in collaboration with our volunteers who will keep organizing the Instameets and adventures. This will allow the collection of photos of Aruba’s cultural heritage on social media to keep growing and ensure that our heritage remains vividly in view.