Hello, I am Tessa!

Where are you from? What are you doing in Amsterdam?

Hi I'm Tessa, I'm 15 years old and I'm from Amsterdam myself and live nearby. I was born here and spent my childhood in Amsterdam. My dad is also from Amsterdam west and grew up around here. My dad told me stories about how west used to be and about what it looked like when he was a child. I find it funny how me and my dad for example in the summer went to the same beach when I was slightly younger or how we played in the same park. He moved a lot though as a child and I'm pretty sure he didn't stay here. My mom is from Russia and was born in Saint Petersburg. She played basketball for a very long time and became really good at it. I don't hear a lot of stories from her childhood, only about what food her mom used to make if she's making a Russian dish or about her playing basketball. She moved to Amsterdam to marry a man. I never met this man but she did get my brothers with him. My brothers are way older than me, my eldest brother is going on 30 and I'm still 15. I also have a different dad than them, but I do see them as just my brothers and they have always seen my dad as a sort of support. My brothers are the typical Amsterdam man you would see walking around the city at night. Not really my type, but they are always nice to me and there for me when I need them.

Can you tell me something about the place where you come from?

Around this part of Amsterdam it's not the best I think. But there is a lot of love and a huge community. You just have to find the right people in Amsterdam and you can have amazing friends. I think Amsterdam west should be about the community more. No matter what you are or where you are from, everyone does know everyone and I think this can be a good thing in a lot of ways. I also personally think the tourists are a good thing for business and also art colleges or museums. I think the tourists and the people that come here make the city a part of what it is. I do think Amsterdam is very different from most in the country. Yes Rotterdam or Utrecht are maybe a bit the same but if you look outside of the busy cities it's a very peaceful country with villages and countryside. Even though I love the city I feel like I would also live somewhere that has those countryside and small villages. I do think Amsterdam still has a lot of nature for a city which I do love. The canals are another staple of the city. I love the boats during kings day or on a warm summer day.

What is your favourite activity/the things you like to do during your free time?

I love drawing a lot. I'm not the best at it, but I think I can also improve a lot. I also love spending my time with animals. I don't care if it's horses, cats, fish, pigeons or cows. I love them. I like training with dogs and horses and love to play with my cat. This can be heard about me as soon as you get to know me even a little bit. I love riding horses and started doing it ages ago. I also would like to work with animals one day and specifically horses. I love how caring and loving they can be. My trainer always says, “horses break bones not hearts”. I love the fact animals don't know hate like humans do. I also have a love for going to see theater and concerts. I have already been to a few concerts in my life but only one musical but I am going to see six soon. I just love music. When I'm biking, or working, or painting I'm always listening to music. From rock to pop, from Hamilton to Heathers, I love it. I could just lay with my eyes closed listening to my cd player for hours. I also love taking pictures. I wish I had a digital camera but I'm still saving up for one, but I already love taking pictures with my phone from animals or the city stuff like that.

What is your relation to street art? Art in general?

I think street art is an important and beautiful thing. I love graffiti and the simple cartoony style it has most of the time. I think art should be something to bring people together and it should be free. I don't think you should have to buy a ticket to a museum just to enjoy art.

My knowledge and relationship with art in general is pretty good. I have a ton of friends who are seriously amazing in it. That's why I also visit a lot of museums and talk a lot about art. I think art should be something to celebrate and the fact humans were making art thousands and thousands of years ago makes me believe creating is something in our mind and art and music is a natural thing that just runs through our mind. 

In your opinion what’s the most interesting aspect of Street Art?

That it doesn't always have to come from an artist to be seen as art. It isn't locked behind a glass case and sold for millions. You could just walk around the city and you will see stickers of people's opinions or murals painted because of wars. I think that's something beautiful, the fact street art is a sort of way of saying what you think without people being on your ass because of it. Art has always been about emotions and even just a spray painted word can mean something deep most people don't even think about. This is also why I love Amsterdam. The amount of freedom to give your opinion. Art is something everyone and anyone uses and sees even if they don't think they like art. Everyone does, and I think Amsterdam wouldn't be the same without the amount of gravity and street art.

What are your responsibilities at SAMA?

I mostly work with the kids in the neighbourhood. When they are done with school and playing around they can come to us and I will talk with them and draw with them since I speak Dutch. I think it's fun to play with them and maybe teach them to draw something. I think working with the kids or the neighborhood is important and an amazing thing SAMA does.

Do you have a favourite artist in the SAMA collection?

I don't really know who made everything but I really like the things like the skateboard with the man on it. It's so simple yet I feel like it's very creative. I also just like art pieces like that. It's so simple and people think it's easy to just whip something like that up but if you're actually trying to think of something original like that it's pretty hard. I also really like the little train painting on the wall of the office. It reminds me a little bit of how I paint and I think it's very detailed. 

What interests you the most in the concept of SAMA? 

The workshops they at least used to do in the summers. I think this kind of house where kids can come and draw or paint is so fun and a beautiful thing to do with the neighborhood. I think it really brings people together. I actually used to do them as a kid and I love how it brings kids together. I feel like bringing people together is very needed especially in neighborhoods like these. I also think because of the workshops kids get influenced to be more creative and might also want to start painting themselves. That's why I think it's important to bring kids into creative things like painting or theater so they see things like that and when they grow up maybe become more interested in it. 

Which artwork of the SAMA collection do you like the most

I really like this wall painting. I think it has the perfect amount of old and new. Van Gogh is also a huge thing for Amsterdam so it's cool that that has a little piece over here in nieuw-west. It also has personal value since I used to bike or walk by it a lot as a kid and I always liked it. It brought the color in the neighborhood and was just so well made and detailed. Everything from the shading to the color combo was just great.

What has been the most challenging moment during your time at SAMA so far?

Well I only have been here one day when writing this, but I think it's going to be hard working with the neighborhood which is kind of what I'm supposed to do. Even though I'm a pretty social person, I think working with the actual neighbors, if we're going to do that. It would be hard for me. I'm a very specific person and keep to my kind of people most of the time so working with people that might not be like me at all is a bit hard for me. I also think it might be hard with the meetings and online stuff if I get to do that.