What makes these tiny street-side interventions so powerful? Why is this renegade art-form Steffie’s favorite playground for creative expression? She’ll share her mindset, methods, and the beauty of working under the radar.
You’ll discover how starting with a concept (not just a material) unlocks a whole new level of creative freedom. You’ll also dive into the power of the alter ego and why sometimes, you just need to channel your inner “F*ck It” mentality to make a real impact.
Through playful, thought-provoking exercises, you’ll explore your core values and build an alter ego that dares to say what you really mean. The first assignment will consist of making a fake “lost” poster or advertisement poster.
From there, we’ll develop a concept and create small, street-ready objects that carry your story into the world. You will learn how to think more freely and see what you can do with the environment you put your art in. After that we are going to brainstorm and make a (prototype) object that tells your message and you can potentially put it in the streets (should you want to). But it’s also perfectly ok if you chose to never show it to another living soul.
It’s a perfect chance to practice getting bold. Getting weird. Getting real. Let’s make some noise with the most fun art-form around. Let’s play!
Steffie is a visual artist born and raised in Tilburg. As a kid she always felt out of place, like a piece of a puzzle from another box. By drawing, writing and crafting she could view others with her perspective of the world. Today she still uses every medium to tell her personal stories.
While she loves working with wood, clay and graffiti, film is still her main medium. Her work can be recognised by the raw and sometimes experimental visuals combined with personal and fragile stories. Her style, use of cinematic language and stories she chooses to focus on are contributing to Steffie Storms’ uniqueness. She calls herself ‘an awkward artist from the Netherlands’
Steffie graduated at St. Joost and also participated in DOCWERK.
She was part of our 2022-2023 generation of Next Talents.
We asked Steffie some questions about this unique concept for an atelier.
When did you first try out street art and why?
“I started making stickers at a young age. They are the easiest way to place something in public. When I started graffiti in puberty, I was not really good at it so I started making stencils. But it all felt too flat and blending into the streets so I started making little clay figures that I would put on the streets.
Later I made fake pillboxes with controversial texts on them. My recent work are my aggressive cakes that I put in the streets, the fun and tasty looking fake cakes with messages about things that bother me.”
What is the advantage of creating a public art intervention as opposed to creating art in more traditional environments?
“There are no rules and it’s free to use. You get a broader audience. It also feels like a playground where opportunities are endless.
Also it needs a different kind of thinking, more playful.”
What should people think of when they read “public art interventions”?
“It’s art that makes people stop, think and even laugh when bumping into these interventions. They are like little presents that break your mundane rushed life.
Besides a dose of humor, they can also address deeper issues with society, the environment or political viewpoints.”