From monument to VR: St. Eustatius renews heritage experience

Voor Raimie Richardson the main reason to start digitizing heritage was to centralize and share the collected information with locals. The first course of action was to determine what could be done independently to preserve the heritage and where external assistance was needed. Capacity and sustainability of certain projects quickly emerged as significant challenges, says Richardson. Local sites most often had signs with a lot of text that would not withstand the test of time, making them very expensive to repair.

Due to Sint Eustatius' colonial landscape, residents often overlook these monuments, but combining the physical with the digital would place them in a new perspective”, Richardson notes. Moreover, given that Sint Eustatius is in a hurricane-prone area susceptible to various natural disasters, digitalization provided the best solution. Placing archaeological and monument markers- a red obelisk in the ground with a QR code on it- opened the door to a whole new way of sharing this information.

Since many monuments in Sint Eustatius are private residences, this project brought these monuments closer to the people. “Everyone thought, wow, this is cool. They became very enthusiastic about learning and discovering more about digital heritage”, he says.

Virtual reality (VR) was used to digitize the stories of Ishmael Berkel and the Berkel Family Museum. Jaap Vreeling spearheaded the VR project and persuaded Ishmael- who is 90 years old- to do this for future generations. “What makes it so special is that it offers a different perspective on digitization. Often, people only think about digitalization referring to documents, archives, slave registers, and emancipation records. But what about artifacts and stories from people who are still alive? In this case, you see Mr. Berkel walking through his family’s house and showcasing artifacts,” Richardson explains.

“With a VR headset, visitors don’t need to be physically on Sint Eustatius to experience the island’s history and culture. This way, you also get a form of virtual tourism through heritage.” Other monuments will be added as well, allowing people to walk through the town, open doors they might not have access to, and see documents and artifacts that are inside such a place. “Digitalization not only preserves our heritage but also brings it closer to the people,” he adds.

Collaboration

Challenges he encountered were the funding and trying to work together, he explains. “We need to collaborate with others because it’s cheaper and more cost-effective. One way is to work with other islands within the Caribbean part of the Kingdom; our histories are often intertwined, and it helps to fill in the puzzles we think we’re missing.”

Our own stories

The future of Sint Eustatius in terms of heritage and digitalization is to promote our own stories, says the heritage inspector. “It comes from the island itself and is not given or imposed upon us. That allows us to create a different narrative, our own story through oral history, music, recipes from our grandparents, and old handwritten letters. And so, a new heritage magazine was born to give Statians and Statian history a platform of their own.”

Currently, the magazine is a written publication, but in the future, Richardson wants to digitize it and collaborate with other islands across the Caribbean. “Often, the magazines are not about us or for us. The idea is to have a magazine about Statian heritage, not just current heritage, but also intangible heritage. And then hopefully expand to other islands in the future, making it a heritage magazine for the Caribbean, he notes. “Digitalization brings our heritage back to life, it ensures that our tangible and intangible heritage lives on even after the monuments and the people are gone,” says Richardson.

Writer: Melissa Stamper