We were lucky to catch up with BEDDRU recently and have shared our conversation below.

BEDDRU, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?

My business is art-fed. Therefore, creativity is unquestionably the societal value I support through my company mission.. When I look at the model society aks us to conform, “the” values to achieve, I mean those ones we are really supposed to focus on, power and success appear to be on top of the list. Are they really essential? I do not think so. Curiosity, creativity and compassion are, for me, way more important. Through my art, I try to represent societal motifs to reduce gaps related to gender, race, and time.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Well, the services I offer my clients are of two different sorts:

1. Art services – These cover the creation of artworks for their private and/or professional space
2. Educational services – I currently manage an international business school in Brussels, acting as a Dean.

Are the two compatible? Yes, they are; otherwise, I would not be able to run my business.

The problems I solve for my clients are broad. For example, while through my art services, I try to bring artworks that are the result of experimenting with new materials and drive their attention to important societal phenomena, through my educational services, I support students and faculty to look at current times with curiosity and critical thinking pushing them to questions models and perspectives opposite to learn about them.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

My story is no exception to what many other talented human beings live. For an odd sequence of events, I never studied art, but I was consistently producing some being entirely self-taught.
I was left free to choose what to study, but in my younger years, I could feel the pressure of selecting a cycle of studies that could bring me to a serious profession; therefore, this was not art. University time was when I built the platform to professionally prepare myself for the serious world. The years after graduation were those when I travelled a lot and worked for different global corporations making a solid career as a manager. But around 2012, I started questioning it after further education ( an international master’s within one of the most influential American universities) made me understand I could set my life differently, be the owner of my own business, and even think of shifting my career towards a different direction. This was when I fired myself from the last corporation and created BEDDRU, my own company. I decided to dedicate my time to Art and Education. Initially, operating as an artist was difficult, mainly because I started from scratch, but my business experience served me well. Talent did the rest. I am fortunate to operate internationally while being supported by many galleries on different continents. I believe in my work and facilitate my connection to such a broad base of international clients. My other passion is undoubtedly education. Transferring skills, competencies and knowledge to the younger generations is priceless. This is why I also love my more formal job as a dean at UBI Business School, an international school Brussels based. In the programmes we run, entrepreneurship represents a solid pillar. This is the meeting point between my two professional vectors as I become an example but certainly not an exception of what the programmes teach our students to prepare for.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

The most rewarding aspect is that you can look at the same things as others and see something different. Creativity is the fuel for novelty but also in business terms for (Re-)Design applicable to things and processes. You can generate new things never seen before but also change how you work/operate. Also, I usually need to travel and visit new places to be creative. Travelling is an eye-opener. I always observe places and people in those places. This energy is then channelled into new work I create in my studio in Brussels once I return. The responsibility of an artist is to produce your own view on things which can be very different from what most people may think or see. The detachment from reality occurs because we leverage imagination which sometimes can sound crazy to rational thinkers. As an artist, I escape reality and re-shape it my way. The fact that people may like it or not becomes secondary to me as the mission is to be truthful to your vision rather than pleasing an audience. Creatives can indeed reform the collective perception of society and challenge traditional views. This does not necessarily imply you must create a shock (sometimes it happens). Instead, your idea needs to make people reflect that your opinion exists and can be acknowledged among the possible options on top of what they know already. You bring an alternative. You create value that did not exist before.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.beddru.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/beddruart
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Beddru/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/giuseppe-bellia-93a2051/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCI6Ug_pLc2CM6LvJWASguiA/featured