Marlou Fernanda is a self-taught visual artist shaking up the art scene in Rotterdam. Her work captures the intricacies of identity, heritage and self. “I started painting characters who were visually reminiscent of myself in my artwork to be able to start to accept my identity.”

Marlou Fernanda

Marlou Fernanda is a self-taught visual artist shaking up the art scene in Rotterdam. Currently showcasing at the Dutch art museum Kunsthal, Marlou’s work captures the intricacies of identity, heritage and self. “I started painting characters who were visually reminiscent of myself in my artwork to be able to start to accept my identity.”


Born in Curaçao, a southern Caribbean island, she moved to Rotterdam aged six. “I feel that in Rotterdam different cultures blend well together.” Knowing the exact spots to hit up around the city to find a taste of home and community. Rotterdam is where she began her “artistic journey”, but Marlou also takes inspiration from her Caribbean roots. “I started to use different colours when I was in Curaçao, I took a lot of inspiration from the environment.” Brought to you in partnership with 

 SS22 collection, paying homage to the Caribbean and inspired by the French Riviera. This series of guides dives into the lives, art and communities of Caribbean people in Europe. Read Marlou Fernanda’s guide to finding the perfect 

, museums, and Samba nights keeping her connected to her Caribbean and Brazilian roots.

Rotterdam

This is where I used to get my hair products when I had long curly hair.

When we’re in the city, we usually pass by to get a Pastechi.

For two years we’ve made it a habit to order pastechi, cheese balls, sate ku batata and other dishes from Curaçao at this specific place for the holidays, especially for New Year's Eve. I know the owners, and normally they’d do the catering whenever my good friend Junelisa had a party, for example. I’ve been waiting for them to open a restaurant ever since. They have the best Caribbean food in town (for me) no doubt!

I used to go to this café/venue/club where they’d have R&B, funk, soul, salsa and bossa-nova nights. I loved seeing so many people from Brazil coming together in Rotterdam to play beautiful samba music. I’d always go here with my big sister – I really miss those days! We used to meet so many people there and I felt like I was learning more about different cultures and different people.

I’m in their extended family program, and for that reason I’ve been able to go behind the scenes and visit their archives. They had so many crazy items that I’ve never seen before. A lot of slavery related items too. Curaçao and Brazil, of course, were a part of this too. I remember feeling so connected to my heritage and actually became angry at what ‘they’ stole from us.