We Are Very Individual, We Are Very Independent: Twenty Years of Art

Details

  • Interviewee: Kamil Proost
  • Role: Community Member
  • Community: Nieuw en Meer
  • Date: 2026-01-14
  • Language: en

Summary

In this interview, Kamil Proost shares his experiences living and creating art in his studio over the past twenty years. He highlights his diverse skills as a painter, poet, writer, and investigator, emphasizing his connection to historical art influences like Hieronymus Bosch. Kamil appreciates the independence of his living arrangement, describing a culture of individualism rather than a communal lifestyle where members routinely gather. His initial move to the area was prompted by friends from the Akademie de la Mano, showcasing the themes of belonging and joining in the context of creative communities.

Key quotes

What I like about this place is that we are very individual. We are very independent.

It is not a community where people eat together all the time and do everything together.

I came here about twenty years ago when friends from the Akademie de la Mano, a painter and graffiti artist, called me saying that somebody was being kicked out.

Transcript

**Kamil Proost:** Hi, my name is Kamil Proost. I have been living here for about twenty years. My art is mostly painting, but I am also a poet, a writer, a singer, and an investigator of strange things. Mostly of the past, of today, and sometimes of the future. Here you see one of my paintings. It clearly goes back to Hieronymus Bosch, the famous Dutch surrealist painter.

**Kamil Proost:** I came here about twenty years ago when friends from the Akademie de la Mano, a painter and graffiti artist, called me saying that somebody was being kicked out. I jumped on my bike, and within three quarters of an hour I arrived. I got a studio downstairs where I lived for about ten years, and later I moved into this bigger one.

**Kamil Proost:** What I like about this place is that we are very individual. We are very independent. It is not a community where people eat together all the time and do everything together. Sometimes that happens, but most of the time you are by yourself in your studio.