Irma Smeets

(BE), 2020 Artwork specially created for this exhibition
portrait-thebrusseller

Lives and works in Koekelberg. Graduated from Sint Lucas Antwerp, graphic design. For 20 years she was a teacher at Rhok Academy of Arts Sint-Pieters-Woluwe. Illustrations for children’s magazines, children’s booklets : ‘The frog circus’, ‘Zaza is zen’. For several years now I have been taking lessons at the academy again, where I was given the room to experiment with forms of expression and techniques. 

Last year I worked with photos and drawings from Molenbeek, Elisabethpark, Bruzz, that I used to accomplish this work. This is also my view of the city where I live. The academy of arts (exists since 1880) where I take lessons, is located in Molenbeek. It is a municipality with a large Muslim community, tea houses, cheap shops. When I cross the canal via the bridge and the Gentsesteenweg, I arrive in the Dansaert district, with hip cafes, expensive shops, cultural events. These different worlds come together, separated by the canal. I was inspired by this image.

Technique: watercolor, colored pencil, bister

Mail: irma.smeets58@gmail.com
Web: www.irmatekent.wordpress.com
instagram: firmatekent

The artist’s text is in the artist’s language.