Coming soon

Independent creative Ramin Bahari will be taking the stage to talk all things weird during this month’s talk at Zoku. But before we all get the chance to meet him, we asked Ramin to answer a few questions about himself and what we can expect from his talk:

What is your creative profession?

Wikipedia calls me “a person who is employed for the extraction of skills in creative endeavours”. Basically I’m an advertising creative & art director. I spend about 70% of my time on commissioned work and 70% on personal projects.

What will you be sharing with the CreativeMornings community on Friday 2 September?  

We’re going to practice the fun of discovering our discomforts. I know, it sounds kinda sexual, but it’s not (per se).

How is Amsterdam and its creative scene special to you?

Everyone speaks the same language - figuratively. Amsterdam is the city with the most nationalities in the world and well on it’s way to becoming the creative capital of Europe. But because of it’s small size and relaxed culture it’s effortless to connect to different minded people.

If stuck in a creative rut, what’s your trick to get free and let loose?

Stop working, start playing. Life is a game, not a task. If you approach anything like that, you won’t mind if something is ‘hard’ and see it as a challenge.

What’s the weirdest place you’ve ever worked from?

A few weeks ago I caught myself emailing about some upcoming projects on the border of Thailand and Cambodia. We had just got our passport stamps and were trying to cross the road while dodging ‘Tuk-Tuks’ and scooters that we’re dragging carts about 200x their size. Everyones face was covered with masks as dust was everywhere. We jumped on a 60 year old bus - that would take us to the next city. When I told my girlfriend “I still have 4G here!” And then we ordered some tickets to an upcoming Little Dicky show in Paradiso. Isn’t the future amazing?

What’s the weirdest proposal you’ve ever sent to a client?

Me: -“Hey, here is a crazy idea we made up. We thought about it while watching youtube videos, playing ping-pong and cracking jokes for 3 days. What do you think?”

Client: “Awesome, here is a million dollars!”

We really do work in an amazing industry.

Thanks Ramin for this interview! We look forward to your talk on Friday, September 2nd at Zoku (Weesperstraat 105). Tickets go live on Monday the 29th at 9am - so get those alarm clocks ready and make sure to grab your (free!) ticket for the event!.

Visual artist Sanne Kabalt is our speaker for Friday’s talk on the global theme ‘Reality’. But before we all get the chance to meet her at Spring House, we asked Sanne to answer a few questions about herself and what we can expect from her talk:

CreativeMornings: What is your creative profession? 

Sanne Kabalt: Sometimes I introduce myself as a photographer, sometimes as a visual artist. When you say ‘photographer’ many people think of commissioned work, yet I focus on my own autonomous projects. Therefore ‘artist’ feels more accurate, though I do like to emphasise the medium of photography, which is vital to my work.  

CM: What will you be sharing with the CreativeMornings community on Friday 20 May?

SK: I will give an insight in my work and talk about (in)visibility in the medium of photography. My work is about psychological themes such as memory, sanity and empathy. The places or people that are shown in the photographs are never the actual subject of the work. This month’s global CreativeMornings theme ‘Reality’ provides an interesting angle to analyse what I do.

CM: How is Amsterdam and its creative scene special to you?

SK: I admire the sheer beauty of this city, the sense of history, the fact that you criss-cross it by bicycle. The unforeseen meetings with people you know, or don’t. All the beautiful small movie theaters. The art around every corner.  

CM: If stuck in a creative rut, what’s your trick to get free and let loose?

SK: At first I usually struggle to get out of this phase by force; I work very hard and rest very little. Then at some point I surrender and I start to do something else altogether: Take a walk. Lie down in the grass somewhere. Take a shower. Anything. And then at some point in these moments of emptiness and space, new ideas will pop into my mind, when I least expected them.

Thanks Sanne for this interview! We look forward to your talk!

The event will take place on Friday, May 20th at Spring House, the home for radical innovators at De Ruijterkade. For more information on the event and how to sign up for the waitlist (unfortunately, this event is already sold out), visit the event page.

Credits: Saffron Pape Photography

This month we’ve invited creative entrepreneur and Young Collectors Circle founder Nienke van der Wal to talk about the global theme ‘Change’. But before she takes the stage at Foam, we asked Nienke to answer a few questions about herself and what we can expect from her talk this Friday:

CreativeMornings: What is your creative profession? 

Nienke van der Wal: I call myself creative entrepreneur because I do so many different things. One of the main things I do now is being what a good friend once described as being an ‘art broker’: I work freelance as an international programmer in the arts, researching and creating exhibitions and educational programs for Dutch museums. I feel incredibly lucky to be able to travel all over the world and meet so many amazing young artists and visit great institutions. Besides this, I also develop and manage other cultural projects in the Netherlands. My personal love for the arts was also the motivation to start the Young Collectors Circle, an ever growing community of art enthusiasts and novice collectors. 

CM: What will you be sharing with the CreativeMornings community on Friday 25 March?

NvdW: I will talk about change in relation to art and collecting - and about why collecting art is important, fun, and not as expensive or difficult as you may think.

CM: How is Amsterdam and its creative scene special to you?

NvdW: I love that cycling through any part of the city can create 'wow’ moments, whether it’s a beautiful building or an exotically dressed Amsterdammer. Besides that, there’s always tons going on in town. People are not afraid to create new things and when they do, there are always people that are interested in it. 

CM: If stuck in a creative rut, what’s your trick to get free and let loose?

NvdW: To create headspace I tend to bingeshop online, only to clear out my basket after 30 minutes - most of the time anyway. When I need inspiration, I visit a museum or gallery.

Thanks Nienke for this interview! We look forward to your talk!

The event will take place on Friday, March 25th at photography museum Foam. For more information on the event and how to sign up for the waitlist (unfortunately, this event is already sold out), visit the event page.

February’s speaker and first of 2016 is multimedia artist Roos Groothuizen. Roos, who is interested in visual information filters and the way these alter and manipulate our world perspective, will talk on the global theme “Ethics” on Friday, February 26th at Foam. But before that, get to know her a little bit in this short interview:

CreativeMornings: What is your creative profession?

Roos Groothuizen: I am a multimedia artist and also a freelance graphic designer. I don’t really have a name for that combination yet, though. Currently, I’m studying a Masters in Design at the Sandberg Institute in Amsterdam.

CM: What will you be sharing with the CreativeMornings community on Friday 26 February?  

RG: I will talk about my research, which is about manipulating information on the web and unethical algorithms. Next to that, I will talk a bit about the Consulate of Google, an art installation I created in the summer of 2015.

CM: How is Amsterdam and its creative scene special to you?

RG: It is different from other cities I’ve worked in (Den Haag and Rotterdam) and really has its own established art scene. I’m living here since September and so far it has been very nice. As I’m also studying, I constantly find myself in an environment with very inspiring and ambitious people, where I can still experiment and am also allowed to fail sometimes.

CM: If stuck in a creative rut, what’s your trick to get free and let loose?

RG: I go to lectures and expos, or I read a book that is relevant to my research topic. Looking at old pictures I took with my phone also works sometimes. And so does eating healthy and getting enough sleep.

Thank you Roos for this interview! We look forward to your talk next week at our new location Foam. Tickets go live on Monday the 22nd at 9am - so get those alarm clocks ready and make sure to grab your (free!) ticket for the event!

August’s speaker is Marta Veludo, designer slash visual wizard inspired by the pop-culture, folk art, pound shops and tumblr, and fascinated by inventions, colour, movement and compositions. Get to know her before our next talk on Friday 28 August:

1. What is your creative profession?

I consider myself a visual wizard. I do work as a graphic designer, but I shake my magic wand in illustration and I do have some assignments as an art director. So as you can see, visual wizard is a short and not compromising definition.

2. What will you be sharing with the CreativeMornings community on Friday 28 August?
I will be sharing my story, my way of working, my magical chaos and how random actions help creativity.

3. How is Amsterdam and its creative scene special to you?
Amsterdam for me transmits the sensation that everything is possible to happen and to be built. That’s what I find special and unique about it.

4. If stuck in a creative rut, what’s your trick to get free and let loose?
Dunno yet for sure. To be in a good mood helps definitely to prevent creative blocks, and to save me from them, I try to do something else rather being in the project. I tend to think a lot and get stuck, in a vicious cycle. So I go outside, take a piercing, eat an icecream, check tumblr feed, check the new movie trailers and try out the new Skype emoticons. Procrastination, I think that’s what it’s called!

Thank you, Marta, for your answers! We can’t wait to hear more about your work on Friday 28 August at WeWork Weteringschans. Tickets for the event go live on Monday the 24th at 9am – see you then!

Portrait by Debbie Trouerbach.

August = ACTION!

This month’s global theme was chosen by our Bogotá chapter and illustrated by Jose Berrio. The event is presented by FreshBooks, a new addition to our Official Partners team.

We look forward to welcoming you at WeWork Weteringschans on August 28. Speaker announcement is on its way!

July’s global theme is COLLABORATE. 

The theme was chosen by us and the banner was photographed by Tory Williams. In the spirit of collaboration, we’re inviting YOU to contribute to this month’s illustration. Learn more and get remixing over at creativemornings.com/blog/remix!

We are kicking off the month of collaboration with a special event at the Hoxton Amsterdam on Thursday 9 July, to be followed by a talk at another newly opened venue… Stay tuned for the announcement!

We have had the honour to welcome the most inspiring speakers during the 24 months of our Amsterdam events. As June marks our 2-year anniversary, we decided to look back and see what our speaker on Childhood, artist Kim Demåne, has been up to recently.

Since speaking at our event in January 2014, Kim’s been focused on illustration, painting and sculpture. His occasional commercial tasks have become less and less, and he now works as a full-time artist. Exceptions are his projects with music label Golden Best Records, for whom he has created posters. He also illustrates for the Amsterdam-based music organisation ABSNFC – below a detail of his poster for their event at Canvas on the 12th of June.

A few months back he swapped Amsterdam for his childhood sceneries of Blekinge in Sweden, when he was invited to take part in Konstrundan, an annual art route throughout the Blekinge province, as a guest artist: 

Recently Kim has also taught workshops in his previous high school. What started off as a one-off street art workshop for local teenagers, grew into a month-long drawing class. This is something Kim can see himself do more of in the future: “Not only did it make me feel 10 years younger, but also 10 years older. I really enjoyed playing the role of an “inspirator”….. with the mindset that if I did my job well, I can play a great part in their creative future.”

This summer Kim has been invited to take part in O15 at the Ostrale Centre for Contemporary Art in Dresden and the Kosmopolite Art Tour in Belgium. If you happen to visit these fantastic events, be sure to have a peek at Kim’s murals!

We are sending Kim’s traditional mental high-fives everyone’s way by reminding you of the importance of giving yourself time to (day)dream. Dream, create, sleep, dream some more and repeat – what better way to head to the summer months with this in mind!

All images © Kim Demåne

PS. Are you joining us on Thursday 9th of July at the brand new Hoxton Amsterdam for our special event with filmmaker and Instagrammer Phil Yisrael?

June’s global theme is REVOLUTION – we will be at the Brakke Grond on Friday the 26th.

June’s global events are presented in partnership with Shutterstock. The theme was chosen by our Raleigh chapter and illustrated by the talented Mark Weaver.

Stay tuned for the speaker announcement!

A new month means a new CreativeMornings theme!

In May we will be talking about ROBOT, a theme presented by MailChimp. See you on the 22nd!

Illustration by Ella Cohen.