Three international artists have moved to Groningen to be inspired here and to work in their shared studio. One of the artists in the studio is Kenji Nakama (1982), born in Peru and where he studied Painting. In 2015 he decided to follow a master's degree at the Frank Mohr Institute in Groningen. There he met Voula Frasiola (1979) and Kimball Holth (1982). Together with three other international artists, they rent a studio in an old school on the Van Schendelstraat.
“We work and live in the same building and that makes it very easy to get to our studio. We often start work in the afternoon and sometimes go on until midnight. We always have dinner together in the studio." Everyone has a different internationality: Voula is Greek, Kenji is half Japanese and half Peruvian and Kimball is from Australia. "We are already quite used to these differences in cultures because we have known each other for three years and work so closely together It is very interesting that we are all brought up in a different culture and have different standards and values For example when we are all cooking together you notice that we all have different background, we often talk about this. In our work we are also different from each other. For example, Kenji is always looking for waste material that he uses for his work. He thinks it is important to let the beauty of the material come back in his work Kimball mainly makes installations and videos, in his work he likes to make things 'messy' and it is all about the process towards the final work.”
For Voulas, moving to Groningen was the best decision of her life: “Studying and working abroad has made me step outside my comfort zone, I keep pushing myself to focus on my work. My main goal in Groningen is to make art, this is the most important. I am a multidisciplinary artist, humor is what weaves all my projects together. My works are generally conceptual, I want to highlight certain situations. Moving to Groningen was not the easiest way for me, I have to work extra hard here. It's a wonderful adventure and I enjoy it every day.” Kimbal and Kenji nod in agreement and add: “It opens your mind and it asks a lot of you. You have to adapt and build a whole new life. At home we always saw the same people and we had the same group of friends, here we meet so many new people who all have their own view of the world and make different work, that has also changed us. The nice thing about Groningen is that the city is not too big and that's why we felt directly connected to the city. The city is a real source of inspiration, although we sometimes have trouble staying inspired. At those moments we read a good book, listen to music and especially experiment with other materials and techniques. As an artist from abroad there is always a research trajectory that you have not yet been part of, there are many opportunities for us. We sometimes work together on projects or we have an exhibition together. We are thinking about organizing an open studio day soon. During breaks we occasionally go outside and then we have a brainstorming session and drink coffee. That's the great thing about working in a studio with other artists.”
Workshop, workshop, studio… The space in which an artist works is a place where people plod, plan and measure day in, day out. Where a creative product is created and where people think. In this series, visit Groningen artists at their workplace. What are they currently working on? What does their working day look like? And what do they do to relax?
Please note: this article has been translated using Google Translate