Imagineear, an audioguide and multimedia content specialist offering a full range of advisory and interpretation services, has created an audio tour for the Jewish Museum Curaçao. This is both the first audio tour for the museum and the first museum audio tour produced in the Dutch Caribbean.
The Jewish Museum Curaçao recently reopened following a refurbishment and now connects almost 400 years of Jewish life on the island with the present. At its heart is Mikvé Israel-Emanuel, known by its congregation as the ‘Snoa’. This synagogue, built in 1732, is the oldest in continuous use in the Americas.
The Snoa and museum tell a powerful story of perseverance, tradition, and transformation, demonstrating the Sephardic Jewish community’s strength, faith, and cultural contributions.
Sharing stories past & present
Imagineear worked closely with the Jewish Museum Curaçao, the Anne Frank Foundation, and local partners to design and deliver an experience that makes Jewish history and culture come to life for contemporary audiences.
The audio tour is delivered using Imagineear’s handheld Mirage device, and guides visitors through the museum’s collection and sacred spaces, including the active synagogue.
Its content discusses the building’s architecture, from the intricate chandeliers to the heychal (cabinet that stores the Torah), in addition to the broader context of Jewish life and its impact on the island.
Stories explore the past and present, and reflect on daily traditions, the island’s Jewish history, and Curaçao’s role during World War II, including personal accounts of wartime experiences.
It also features notable individuals such as George Maduro, a Dutch Curaçaoan WWII war hero, and contemporary Jewish-Curaçaoan artist Rachel Morón, whose intensely personal work in the museum combines photographs, letters, and sound to examine identity and memory.
Emotionally resonant storytelling
The tour is offered in Papiamentu, English, Dutch, and Spanish, reflecting the linguistic and cultural diversity of the island.
Officially recognised in 2007 and once primarily an oral language, Papiamentu required an innovative approach for audio production. In response, project manager Eleonor Heijboer worked with a local studio and the Museum to engage familiar voices directly from the Curaçaoan community. The resulting tour is narrated by four different voices.
Voice talents from the island also recorded the Dutch version, imbuing the stories with a richness, authenticity, and true sense of place.
The Dutch version of The World of Anne Frank was produced in Amsterdam. This is narrated by renowned Dutch actor Peter Blok, who reads quotes from Otto Frank, Anne Frank’s father, in addition to actress Amarenske Haitsma, who voices quotes from Anne Frank’s diary.
It was vital that the project was respectful of the spiritual nature of this environment. Traditional signage and interpretation are deliberately absent in the Snoa and are minimised in other spaces.
Instead, carefully considered, unobtrusive context is provided via the audio tour, enabling visitors to personally engage with the space without compromising its sacred atmosphere.
“The audio tour truly brings the stories to life, adding depth, emotion, and context in a way that resonates deeply with our visitors,” says Saskia Luckmann-Meijer, project leader of the renewed Jewish Museum Curaçao.
“So happy and proud we could create this with Imagineear!”
The multilingual audio experience engages both residents and visitors, honouring the past, enriching the present, and ensuring that the voices of Curaçao’s Jewish community continue to be heard.
Recently, Imagineear partnered with the Wallace Collection to create the audio tour experience for Grayson Perry’s Delusions of Grandeur exhibition. This is the Wallace Collection’s biggest and most ambitious contemporary exhibition to date and presents a vivid expression of Perry’s creativity through humour, personal narrative, and a strong connection to history and craftsmanship.
