Changing course! I am going to follow my heart and devote myself to art. I have therefore started working fewer days a week in IT to make time for this. The seed was planted several years ago. In a tourist town in southern France, I walked into a chapel where beautiful tree sculptures were exhibited. Picking one for home, I spoke to the artist and was impressed by his passion for nature and his drive to protect it. Because it clicked, I met up with him a year later to have diner together. He asked me if I knew of a gallery in the Netherlands that could exhibit his sculptures. I don’t have those contacts, but it kept playing in the back of my mind all this time. Not surprising really, because for years I have been visiting as many museums, exhibitions, galleries, studios and photographing semi-professionally myself. I also find it very fascinating to hear the story behind the artwork.
In autumn 2022, I thought “Why don’t I try it myself?”. When I presented this idea to the artist, he immediately reacted very enthusiastically. I saw the bigger picture in which I represent artists who draw attention to conservation through their art. I want to help draw attention to the threat to nature in this way. Not as an activist, but to make people think, inspire and confront through art.
This means a whole new world has opened up for me. I am expanding my network as I speak to artists, finding exhibition venues, making contract arrangements with the artists and arranging the marketing around exhibitions. I really learn new things every day in this journey.
Does it all run smoothly then? Definitely not! For instance, finding a suitable and affordable exhibition space proved almost impossible. I spent hours searching the internet, requesting quotes and visiting venues. Only to come to the conclusion that professional venues are a step too far for now.
So this has to be done another way. And so I start exhibiting at existing art events. I am proud to announce that my first exhibition will be during the Kunst10Daagse in the North Holland artist village of Bergen from 20 to 29 October 2023. The whole village will then be dedicated to art and you will find sculptures, photographs and paintings not only in galleries, but also in restaurants, shops, churches and other locations. The sculptures I get to exhibit can be seen in the restaurant LadyPapa. I go there often and the atmosphere in the conservatory with its many green plants immediately suited the tree sculptures.
In my next blog, I will be happy to tell you more about the artist.
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