Picture of the Week: National Institute of Arts Calendar Special Series “Dance – Shiloh Bedminister”
The SHTA St Maarten / St. Martin events calendar is about getting the artistry and liveliness of the island of St. Maarten / St.
Martin out there. Created by local artists, it highlights cultural icons and talents while showcasing as many cultural and other events as possible throughout the world. Its 10th edition (2026) was a special one, highlighting a group of artists instead of one single cultural icon. The National Institute of Arts (NIA) was the 2026 cultural icon of choice and collaborated with Digital Island to bring the artistic pictures to life at historic Fort Amsterdam.
As pictures tell more than words, a series of VISIT St. Maarten Pictures of the Week tells the special and creative story of how this collaboration came about and what it did for NIA and the four models.
Apart from group pictures of four talents symbolizing the many disciplines of the academy, individual ones were taken too. Shiloh Rolanda Bedminister represented the dance disciplines in both the group and individual pictures (see above). At NIA, dance takes many forms. Based at the John Larmonie Center in Philipsburg, the arts institution offers a varied program that spans classical, contemporary, and cultural dance traditions. Students can explore disciplines including ballet, modern and contemporary dance, jazz, hip-hop, urban fusion, lyrical dance, Afro-Caribbean and African dance, and Bharatanatyam. The programme also includes creative dance and movement-based offerings such as musical theatre, D’Ym (dance and gymnastics), and D’Oga (dance and yoga) and is well presented within many local schools, from primary to secondary education.
Shooting her picture on top of a Fort Amsterdam cantilever will probably not have deterred her. Shiloh is a young dancer, performing artist, and youth ambassador from St. Maarten who became first in her category at the Inter-Caribbean Dance Competition and is currently pursuing her further dance education in Amsterdam at the Academy for Theater and Dance. Representing her discipline for nine months on the 2026 Events Calendar was a positive experience for her. She stated: “Seeing myself featured in artwork on a calendar displayed all around the island was such an amazing and proud feeling. My friends and family were really excited and proud when they spotted it, and it was special knowing that my art was being seen and appreciated by so many people.”
Back to VISIT St Maarten / St Martin Main Page
