…Many languages are spoken around, so it’s no wonder that almost all Dutch people speak very good English and many of them are also fluent in German and/or French. It is the place of diversity in all its forms — Amsterdam is famous for showing tolerance and the reputation is well deserved. People are the ones that give life to streets and houses and become the soul of a city; which makes them an essential photography subject as well. Stay tuned fo…
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…t, especially on the dark days. It’s made me appreciate how many wonderful people I am lucky to know, and I’ll never take for granted hugging the people I love. I guess it’s put a lot of things in perspective in a weird way. As the wonderful David Hockney said recently “the only real things in life are food and love” and I have to agree with him. I can’t wait for wine and pizza in the sun with the people I love! Andra, Amsterdam, The Netherlands @…
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…victions. During this pandemic we were asked to stay home, but for so many people that wasn’t a safe place or even an option. What we usually refer to as “Home sweet home” can be a place where violence happens for women or people of colour. It’s a complex subject matter, and I plan to keep elaborating on it, even if I don’t know yet where it’s going to lead me.” How did you come up with the “Home” series? It was like finding the balance between fe…
Read More…I had a great time today at the American Book Center, where Colleen — the author of the Stuff Dutch People Like blog — launched her new book. The atmosphere was quite nice, with jolly music, warm, delicious stroopwafels, Dutch cheese and gin, as well as many lovely people. I am now the happy owner of a signed Stuff Dutch People Like book, hoera! Congratulations, Colleen!…
Read More…sts as temporary inhabitants, is what I look for in every trip. I dream of long holidays that allow me to dig under the surface of the places I visit, to get a glimpse of the real life, and get to know the people. But even if I have only a few days to spend in a place, I still do a bit of people watching and some aimlessly wandering. Here are a few images I captured on the streets of Rome:…
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…e work, especially the portraits I’ve been doing lately, I get inspired by people I see around me, people I interact with. I like to paint women with a strong character, with an attitude. So, that’s who inspires my work, the women I see when I’m in the park, when I have my coffee, women I talk to, even you 🙂 Aww… thank you! I know that you moved to the Netherlands a few years ago. How did this change impacted your artistic life and your inspiratio…
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…hearing languages from all over the world makes me happy. The diversity of people that you can meet in a city like Amsterdam is one of the biggest advantage of living there — if you like meeting new people, like I do. Luckily, now I can travel to Amsterdam any time I want and experience its international atmosphere, then coming back to the quaint Alkmaar and its lovely quiet streets. All these being said, moving to any place is in the end a very p…
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…m me and pass it on. Truth is I felt a bit like a pariah, needing to avoid people and people avoiding me. I can be on my own for a while, but my limit is around two weeks, and now I’m over that time and I am desperate to see my friends. I did got a break from my isolation yesterday: I took the train to Amsterdam, to meet a friend who wasn’t scared of me. We didn’t go out, stayed in the house, but it was a much needed break from isolation. The trai…
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…the usual number. There was a small market in the city centre but very few people there; at the shops, you could see people in the queues unsure if they have enough distance from the others, moving up and down a few steps. I was glad to see that people finally took the recommendation for social distancing seriously, but it was all very weird and sad! Even the church bells’ song seemed sad yesterday (I wonder if they changed the song?). It felt lik…
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…e impact it still has on Dutch society today. Currently, more than 345,000 people with a Surinamese background and more than 130,000 people with an Antillean or Aruban background live in the Netherlands. The official commemoration of this day started in the Netherlands in 2009 and a National Slavery Monument (Nationaal Monument Slavernijgeschiedenis) was erected in 2002 in Oosterpark in Amsterdam. Events are organised in Amsterdam and several othe…
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