Tip Off
Twice a year, we host Tip Off, a gathering where young artists come together to discuss pressing questions in a relaxed, collaborative setting. Held around the dinner table, at Melkweg Expo, the goal is to foster a space where everyone can help one another, exchange ideas, and share knowledge. We select a relevant topic in advance that resonates with emerging visual artists.
This edition’s theme is: From Graduation to Grounding – How Do We Carry Our Stories into the World?
Leaving school often means stepping into new spaces where our work meets broader audiences, institutions, and expectations. How do young artists navigate this transition? How do personal stories, embodied experiences, and artistic choices hold power in shaping a professional path?
Evening timetable:
18:00 -18:30 Walk-in
18:30- 19:00 Start diner
19:00- 20:00 Introduction and conversation with the guests
20:00 -21:00 Open for conversation/sharing work/situations and after drinks
The event will feature three guests prepared to share their insights and experiences within the group discussion, open also for the community in the audience:
Yvela Jessica
Yvela Jessica is a photographer, filmmaker, poet, and multidisciplinary artist working with tactile elements. She is a part of this year’s Arty Party: Photography Graduates ‘25 exhibition with the “It Means Everything Because This Is Who I Am”. Her work is an ongoing exploration of identity and human connection, driven by curiosity and shaped by experiences of loss. She explores themes of family, friendship, home, belonging, and the emotional voids that can exist within these relationships.
Zoë Dankert
Zoë Dankert is a poet, art critic and audio producer. Her poetry has been published in Het Liegend Konijn and nY. Her essays, reviews and interviews have appeared in Boekman, De Witte Raaf, Metropolis M and NRC. She has created podcast series about graduating from art school, Voor de sprong (2025) and about working conditions in the arts sector, Werktitel (2021-2022). In 2025, she was selected for the deBuren writing residency.
Stacii Samidin
Stacii Samidin’s ongoing project Societies is rooted in raw honesty, radicalism, and the exploration of unfamiliar worlds. Through photography and film, he documents the lives of marginalized communities, the oppressed, and those living unconventional lifestyles. His work centers on seeing, hearing, and accepting without judgment, while creating a shift in both individual and collective consciousness by amplifying the voices of the unheard.
In an intimate collaborative group setting around the dinner table, with food provided by Le Sud, where everyone can contribute, these guests will spark the conversation by reflecting on their practices and what it means to position yourself as an artist after graduation. The conversation will be guided by moderator Isabel Sheridan. Together, the group will explore themes of grounding, visibility, vulnerability, and agency as makers entering the field.
After their introductions, there will be space for broader discussion, where all participants can share their thoughts, introduce their work for feedback, or ask questions about navigating life after graduation.
This programme is supported by the Mondriaan Fund.
