“I dream of a world where things are very different”
Saskia de Vries is a spoken word artist. For Terre des Hommes Netherlands, she created a spoken word with her vision of our work. Who is the person behind this compelling piece? An introduction in six keywords.
Dream
“I dream of a world where things are very different from now, and I think many others do too. Whether it is children's rights or climate issues, there is a lot of suffering in the world. The danger is that this overwhelms us, because the dream seems like an unattainable utopia. How do we bring it a little closer? Perhaps through all the little dreams that lead to it, with that big dream in sight, because it continues to propel and inspire us.”
Terre des Hommes
“Terre des Hommes delivers work that many organisations can be jealous of. For this project I gained more and more insight into the many layers of their work. It is not about putting on bandages, but about tackling the core. They take responsibility in their projects, where others do not, and thus show a courage that inspires me and many others.”
“It is not about putting on bandages, but about tackling the core.”
The making of
“While writing this piece, I was crying several times. Yet I did not feel entitled to pretend that I know how it feels or is for them. And so I decided to write about it. Because I could really do that from within myself, and when I write, it has to be close to me.
I wanted to give a voice to the weight of the theme, and in my opinion that works best when hope, softness and connection are also expressed. One does not exist without the other.”
“I wanted to give a voice to the weight of the theme. In my opinion that works best when hope, softness and connection are also expressed.”
Children's rights
“I am very aware of how privileged I am as a white, healthy, Western woman, and in the past as a girl. When I think about the contrast with children elsewhere on earth, the suffering they go through every day, I feel incredibly sad and desperate. Drowning in these feelings doesn’t achieve much, but framing them is something I like to do. Expressing them in something beautiful (spoken word or poetry) offers, in my eyes, a breeding ground for awareness and change.”
Inspiration
“Regardless of the weather, in nature I come a little closer to myself, I envelop myself in a silence that gives space to everything else. From that silence my creativity comes into motion. And it is precisely that balance between silence and movement that also comes to the fore in my work.”
Urgency
“When I think of urgency, I think of pressure. And although that is something I try to avoid as much as possible in my life, urgency is also necessary. Art is a great tool for this. It gives a voice or an image to what is needed.”
“Art gives a voice or an image to what is needed.”
Saskia de Vries graduated as a professional dancer from the conservatory in Frankfurt (Germany) in 2018. From a young age she has been working interdisciplinary. Movement, voice, word and image often meet in her work. In her work she embodies that which is difficult to capture in words, such as the human psyche, feelings and injustice in the world. With a quirky touch, she tries to make these themes accessible and tangible. In this way she moves people with her words. In addition to her work as an artist, Saskia has her own practice for coaching and counselling.