We are honoured to introduce Ron Simpson as our second Amsterdam Art Week ambassador, whose unique perspective and exciting plans for the event are sure to spark your enthusiasm and curiosity!
Ron Simpson is a speaker and coach for creatives as well as a cultural entrepreneur from Amsterdam. He focuses mainly on creating concepts that combine a “cool, cash and care factor” like the Skybox. He is thrilled to take on the role of ambassador for Amsterdam Art Week and kindly shared with us his insights on what to look forward to during the event, his personal tips for making the most out of the experience. In this article he also talks about Amsterdam as a contemporary art hub, his art collection and some intriguing aspects of his life that are unknown to many.
As an Amsterdammer and an art lover, Ron had many insights to share about the city’s uniqueness. Even though, according to him, Amsterdam feels like the world’s smallest metropolis, it has a lot of freedom in society which allows the city to have a thriving and innovative art scene. He is proud that art is present everywhere in Amsterdam: it is on the walls, on the streets, in people’s fashion choices, architecture, fabrics and Dutch designs.
Ron is a big fan of digital art and the Upstream gallery as well as the NXT Museum. He has a big passion for photography and modern art which is why you could find many photographs varying from Skulljan to Semuel Souhuwat, pop art pieces like KAWS, bearbricks and some Streetart Frankey items in his collection at home. He also has a wide collection of books, Japanese knives sets and sneakers!
What role does creativity play in his life?
“Creativity was always the red line throughout my life and that’s what started my love for design, wordplay, expression and ideas. Art to me is the highest form of those. I always try to elevate anything I do into an artform and I look at the products and services we deliver as art too. That can vary from storytelling to the way we style our plates at the restaurants. Art is simply appealing, it makes you feel something and so I love to be surrounded by it both at work and at home. It adds colour to my life.”
During Amsterdam Art Week Ron is looking forward to having a relaxed and spontaneous experience that will help him discover new people, new art, new locations, new stories and new insights. He is looking forward to some inspiring exhibitions, some first person guides or speakers to tell him a story and a lot of new characters to meet over drinks. The best way for him to experience art is when he gets to hear the story behind the piece or the artist, but sometimes it’s just as much fun for him to guess and feel without any background information.
Finally, we asked Ron to reveal some quirky details about his personality that are unknown to many of us. We were pleasantly surprised by his diverse range of interests and impressive knowledge spanning across music, art, architecture, business, and even outer space! He explained that once he falls in love with a subject he puts all his time into getting to know everything about it. He also loves discussing big ideas, theories and visions.
We want to invite you to join Ron Simpson himself on an exclusive gallery tour during Amsterdam Art Week on Friday 2 June from 17:30 until 19:00. Be sure to reserve your spot as the capacity is limited and get to know him in person. Check out the full tour details, and we hope to see you there!
