We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Rebecca Lillich/Krüger. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Rebecca below.
Alright, Rebecca thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. The first dollar you earn is always exciting – it’s like the start of a new chapter and so we’d love to hear about the first time you sold or generated revenue from your creative work?
My first dollar earned as a creative, as far as my memory permits, was in 9th grade. My mother, a former ballet dancer now costume designer in New York, was building a production of Oscar Wilde’s Ideal Husband at LeMoyne College in Upstate New York. I grew up helping my mom with odds and ends of her projects, like a very extreme form of crafting for kids. I would help make head pieces and decorations and as I got older and my technique became less terrible, I even sometimes did light sewing on costumes. I remember she needed additional help to get everything done for the show, so for the first time, during a break from school, I got hired for a few days to help, working alongside my mother and other adults, which was thrilling to me at 14. I believe I was paid $250 which my mom took and bought me a winter coat with, a black wool Calvin Klein coat with a belt, very New York, very elegant. From my mom I’ve learned that if you take good care of things they last forever, so when I visit home I still use that coat in the winter.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
I’m a German-born, American-raised performer and artist living in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. I grew up training as a classical ballet dancer in New York, choosing to move at 17 to train with Alonzo King LINES Ballet in San Francisco, CA. While the philosophical approach at LINES continues to define my perspective on dance and performance till this day, I decided to leave performing after graduating, choosing to focus on theory and criticism and apply for my Masters at Hollins University. Through theory, choreographic assignments I was at first hesitant about and the opportunity to exchange and study in Europe, I decided I could no longer hide my desire to perform. Seeing performance through a lens of political and social analysis allowed my desire and drive to overcome my fear. My masters program finished in Frankfurt DE, and thus, I bought a one-way ticket and decided to figure out a new chapter of my life. I was grateful to be offered a room in Amsterdam by Tara Masimer, an amazing artist and colleague, never having been to the Netherlands and having no idea what I was getting into. I started working, first for others and now more and more for myself, learning and integrating myself into the art community of Amsterdam. I now share a studio with Stichting Triplets + Jort Faber at Broedplaats Bouw, using the space to develop my performance works and offer space to other artists in the scene. My work has been funded by the Amsterdam Fonds voor de Kunst and has been performed at Frascati, The Grey Space in the Middle, ZID Theater, Plein Theater and Toekomskt Muziek. This year I also began my first steps into visual art and video installation with my partner Ahmad Mallah, presenting our work The Ladder at Art Rotterdam and opening our first duo show, Love Letters, at Pexpo Amsterdam.
My works center on aesthetic surrealism and world making, ranging through various dance forms to performance art. I usually build my own costumes and have a focus on spoken word, developing a new series of works based off texts I wrote 10 years ago as a retrospective of myself.
How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?
The simple answer to this is see more art, attend more events, contribute and show up. Art is a reminder that not everything is shaped and constructed for us; in a world of algorithms that cater and shape what we see, artwork is a deliberate choice and step into another’s world. The intentional discomfort of experiencing art is creating space within the viewer to understand that there are more possibilities. I specifically encourage everyone to embrace seeing work you dislike, or that you even hate! While it can be beautifully moving and confirming to see work that aligns with your values + aesthetics, so much understanding is gained by parsing through work that you have resistance to. Challenge yourself, ask the hard questions. While entertainment is shaped to offer our minds gentle slopes to rush down at the end of a hard day, understand that engaging with the perspective of another through art might be a hike, but what you may encounter at the top can be transformative.
Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?
I really underestimated the power of network and connection. When I left America after graduate school, I left behind every personal and professional connection I had built except for Tara Masimer, an American dance artist from my program who was based in Amsterdam. It was incredibly lonely and difficult to then rebuild in a new place, knowing no one and having to start again. Since then it really became my mission to find community and family in my new home; a component of this is that all my best and favourite jobs have come exclusively from personal connections I’ve built. This is incredibly beautiful to me, a testament to being seen and known and supported. I then try to do the same, offering the resources and information I have to others, openly and willingly sharing what I have.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.rebeccalillichkruger.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_rebecca_the_ambivert_/
- Other: https://vimeo.com/user50529581
Image Credits
Levare – Tara Fallaux 2022 Voyage 2- Reinhout Bos 2024 Voyage – Reinhout Bos 2024 Spit + Scotch tape – Ziyao Yu 2018 The Heart Has Many Strings – Coco Junge 2023 The Ladder – Art Rotterdam – Jesse Bom 2024 The Ladder – Luna Ananda_Max Stoces 2024 Marco de Waal 2022 Personal Photo 1- Darren Smith 2021 Personal Photo 2- Melissa Schriek 2021 Personal Photo 3 – Michial Goudswaard 2021