Our first speaker this year is artist, director and composer Gabriel Shalom. He will share his insights on our global theme, Ugly, and invite us all to think about the context in which both ugly and beautiful exist. Make sure to get your (free) ticket for the event on the 23rd of January at Rockstart! But first: here’s Gabriel’s answers to our short interview.

1. What is your creative profession?

Generally speaking, people pay me to play around with objects and make music out of them. One day if I’m lucky they’ll let me use some actual instruments, but in the mean time I’ve managed to work with things like traffic cones, hair dryers, leggings and knives.

2. What will you be sharing with the CreativeMornings community on the 23rd of January?

I’m interested in how ugly can become beautiful by a change of context. Put another way, if beauty is in the eye of the beholder then ugliness is mud in the eye of the beholder. Have you ever appreciated how lovely the sound of a glitched hoop earring can be? It’s all about context. Many times things which start out as ugly are eventually appreciated as beautiful. Much of this transformation is contingent on the passage of time.

3. How is Amsterdam and its creative scene special to you?

The creative scene in Amsterdam is awesome because you’ve got the charm of Europe mixed with the cosmopolitanism and diversity you’d expect in London or New York. Having lived in Berlin for almost seven years, I’ve found that the creative scene here is heavily oriented towards the domestic German market. In contrast, in Amsterdam there’s an international professional creative community which produces outstanding work. And on the topic of ugliness and beauty: Berlin is as ugly as Amsterdam is beautiful ;)

4. If stuck in a creative rut, what’s your trick to get free and let loose?

It depends what kind of rut. If I’m stuck making music I usually like to dress up as the kind of musician who would make the music I’m trying to make – you know – to get myself in the mood. If I’m stuck writing then its always good to wait until its dark and quiet and pour myself a single malt scotch.

Thank you Gabriel for this interview. See you all on Friday the 23rd at Rockstart!