The St Maarten Innovations, Initiatives & Industries Link-Up Event (SMILE) slated for March 25th, 26th will provide a special platform for the St Maarten artists and gallery community by providing an Affordable Art Show. St Maarten artists are welcome to share their art to visitors from private and public sector as well as NGO’s.
St Maarten boasts many artists, whose artwork is not just purchased by individuals, but also by companies and government agencies. Many offices and public spaces try to provide a platform to local artists. By giving a special platform at SMILE to island made art, it is hoped these creative entrepreneurs will receive more exposure.
According to the organizers St Maarten Hospitality & Trade Association (SHTA) and the 360º of Innovation Foundation, adding a special SXM Art Fair section to the third edition of its tradeshow befits both the formula of SMILE, as well as the close relationship of this edition with the creative economy. On SMILE 2022, awarded Movie producer Ignas Van Schaik will be present as keynote speaker, as well as former Undersecretary for the Arts of Estonia and Chairman of the European Union Expert Group on Cultural and Creative Sectors, Ragnar Siil. In conjunction with the department of culture, other ways are looked at to put St Maarten’s “orange economy” on a pedestal as an opportunity for the future.
The St. Maarten Innovations, Initiatives & Industries Link-Up Event (SMILE) was founded in the wake of hurricane Irma to inspire the Northeastern Caribbean business community with best practices in innovation and sustainability, local and international. As of its first edition in 2018, SMILE has proven a great opportunity for professionals to get (re)connected and obtain new professional updates and ideas and enhance skills. SMILE will be held on Friday March 25 and Saturday March 26, 2022, at the University of St. Maarten.
Organizers call on any artist or gallery looking to expose on the business and NGO event to contact the SMILE project office at office@shta.com or call +1-721-542-0108. More information can be found at www.smilesintmaarten.com. The same accounts for participants from public and private sector wanting to take part.
SHTA and 360* of Innovation thank the Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Atlas Risk Insurances, Grant Thornton, the Central Bank of Curacao & St. Maarten, Dynaf, the Department of Culture of MECYS, ShowMe Caribbean, Guardian Group and host University of St. Martin for cooperating on SMILE’s 2022 edition.
For this edition, a close eye is kept on the developments pertaining to the pandemic to guarantee safety. If the status at the time requires reduced crowd size, tickets will be allocated on a first-come-first-serve basis.
