Ask me anything you would like to know about me

As Oscar Wilde says, “a true artist takes no notice of the public. It’s hard to not care.” And I think that’s true. If you want to create something meaningful and fulfilling, something that lasts and speaks to people, the counterintuitive but really necessary thing is that you must write for yourself first.

So for every story that I put out and every project that I commit myself to I have to be excited about the material. I have to care about it in some way, or I need to be unable to fully grasp the topic which makes it interesting to put in my time there. So its a very necessary thing to sit with myself first, before I start to think about an audience, agents or y he people I work with.

In some ways writing is like a message in a bottle that you throw into sea. You’ll never know where it arrives, how it’s going to be perceived and by whom. And that’s actually the fun part, because You want to give people something to explore and discover. Something that sparks a conversation rather than a way of working. After so many years I’m still intrigued by a painting of Michael Basquiat because I still discover new things. I feel like it’s not my job to determine how the work needs to be perceived. It’s up to the audience to feel for it or not. So the end goal might be to shake things up a little bit and to create something of value. Something fulfilling, so that if that bottle is not going to be received at all, it was still worth writing it. In this weekly you can find the long answer to this question: Message in a Bottle.

I’ve probably wondered many times why adults generally seem to be so convinced about what they’re doing and where they’re going. We get to see politicians, spokes persons, popstars, people with strong opinions who strongly seem to know what they are talking about. As I got older I started to see that these strong individuals were just human beings with flaws and insecurities. You can actually find many people who are far from sure about what they are feeling or actually know why they are doing what they are doing. To a certain extent you could argue that we as human beings often have to believe that what we are already doing is the right thing because what else would be the point of even being there? Questioning our decision-making can bring uncertainty which many of us find uncomfortable. But when you are little and you look at all those confident adults, it can overwhelm you. It can influence you of what kind of person you want to be in the world. At some point it just appeared to me that no matter how things may look like from the outside, the main thing that matters in life is our willingness to ask ourselves the real questions of why we are here and where we aspire to go.

It gives me a lot of joy to discover something I didn’t know yet. I like new ideas and I love the sensation of “not knowing” because it makes me uncomfortable. It gives me the idea that there is more to learn and that I´m moving forward. I like it when I´m learning something each day so that I know more than what I did yesterday. Asking questions can be a way to test gaps in my own knowledge. There is this saying that states; the more you learn the more you realize you don’t know a thing, which is in many ways I believe, true, and it motivates me to keep on going. In a way it’s a drug to learn more and it can deepen your relationship with people as well. A conversation is like a dance in which you can discover how far you can go with people. I like that as well.

1. Know when to listen to other people, but also be a little deaf sometimes.
   In my experience people like to give advices. Especially when they like you and care about you. However, most of our experiences are unique. What has worked for me, does not have to work for you. If I had listened to the naysayers I crossed paths with in my life and allowed them to project their fears on me, I wouldn’t be here today. So know when to listen, and try to be a little deaf to others sometimes.
2. Spend your time to things and people that lift you up, inspire you, or give you positive vibes.
   Our time and attention are our most valuable assets in life. Be mindful to what kind of things or people you spend your time to. If you want to find some meaning in what you are doing, then put the way you like to spend your time first. There are many occupations or careers that may look great from the outside and sound great as well, but it’s worth nothing if in the end of the day you don’t like to spend your hours doing that. So give yourself some space to figure things out. Energy flows where attention goes. So great things can happen.
3. Change what you can control, and let go of what you can’t.
   It’s a simple one, but not always easy to live by. Yet, when we continue working on things that we can actually change, odds are that life will work out the way you want it more often than not.

The Directory, which launched in August 2022, is for me a digital collection of inspiration. Female contributions in the Arts & Entertainment business, as well as non-profit and other industries, generally lack a certain amount of visibility. To support the women behind the businesses, and keep them growing, I intend to use this platform to uplift others. The list is not a definitive, end-all, be-all, exhaustive list. It´s meant as an archive that is always ongoing, and ever-growing – and what I actually like about it: it´s so diverse. I strongly believe in the power of diverse voices to drive culture forward. So if you find the list misses out on important names everyone should hear from, please reach out. If you have suggestions to expand this labor of love, feel free to contact me. Or hit me up on Instagram.

I like it when everyone express theirselves and get the chance to say whatever they want to say. In many conversations, however, I often find opinions stated as facts. The tricky thing about moralizing is that it simplifies reality to what’s right and what’s wrong, which give certain people the invisible permission to say that their version of “good”is more valuable. I don’t necessarily thrive on that.

I often remind myself that I never enter a room alone. You take your grandma with you, your grandpa, your mom, your sister, the people that meant something to you at a certain point in your life but are not part of your life anymore, whether they are dead or alive. People you loved or hated. All of those people learned you something. They are part of me, or you can say; they made me who I am today. So whenever I feel alone or confused, I make sure I go into silence mode. To that place inside myself that gives me the courage to do what I need to do, and to be who I need to be. The thing is: why not you. Sometimes you need to find ways to remind yourself of that.

Social media has given it’s users the power to write freely and to express personal thoughts and opinions. It opens the space for writers, journalists, bloggers, poets to express themselves creatively and authentically and to get their audiences introduced with topics that matter to them. I’m regularly fascinated by the incredible work so many men and women across the globe are doing in fields like philanthropy, business or the arts. Strong voices that are of service to their communities and just need to be heard. Through writing I want to embrace those incredible men and women, start conversations and find the right way to bring their work and those issues to a larger public. Every culture has areas of vast silence – topics that we don’t like to talk about. It’s the artist job to reflect the times. Starting conversations about those taboos or overlooked issues can be of incredible value, since it can remove shame and shows both parties that you’re not alone. Compelling and engaging art can visualise those stories and bring them to life. In many ways I think artists have the ability to connect their generation with causes that will both be meaningful and accelerate progress at the same time.