Gilly

His story:

Gily comes from Suriname, Paramaribo. From his 12th till his 16th he studies art at the Nola Hatterman Art Academy. As a 17-year-old boy he moved to the Netherlands. Making art provided Gily with peace of mind and it is his outlet. But after his arrival in the Netherlands, making art faded into the background, he no longer touched paper and paint. Making fast money and partying were his new outlets and this wild lifestyle eventually became his downfall. He went downhill, lost his home and had to find himself again. Through the Salvation Army, Gily came into contact with the Nico Adriaans Foundation through which he is slowly getting his life back on track. He picks up making art again in order to use it, as he says himself, to "paint away his short fuse." Making art is finding your own path because you have to develop your own style. This quest helped him find the right path again. Since 2016, Gily has been a regular and welcome guest at Via Kunst. Via Kunst is the studio in Rotterdam that we work with. Meanwhile, he has been allowed to exhibit in the Zuidplein theater and the Rotterdam Museum, among others. A next step in his big dream is to one day be able to work from his own studio. Birds are a recurring subject in Gily's work. For him, the bird symbolises freedom. Rotterdam is his city!