Dancing in Difference: A Conversation with Artist Anne-Mei Blom
- Carly Eiseman
- May 21
- 4 min read
An interview between Carly Eiseman and Anne-Mei Blom
Amsterdam-based artist Anne-Mei Blom paints like a dreamer with one foot in the ocean. Her recent works, shaped by a four-month stay in Brazil, are filled with the color and rhythm of surf culture, the intimacy of personal connection, and reflections on migration and belonging.
With a background in migration and refugee law, Anne-Mei’s practice is deeply human — rooted in movement, meditation, and memory. We caught up with her after her return to Amsterdam, as she settles into a new studio and reflects on how Brazil continues to ripple through her work.
Carly: So, where were you in Brazil?
Anne-Mei: I was mostly in Rio. Then I did an art residency in São Paulo. In my last weeks, I traveled to Bahia in the north. I was in Brazil for four months in total - one month was at the residency programme.
Carly: Can you tell me a bit about the art residency? Anne-Mei: I heard about it through someone I met in Rio. This one was perfect: more like the Amazon in the jungle, but not too far from the beach. It was multidisciplinary, so there was one breakdancer, a photographer, a videographer, and another visual artist. It rained nonstop for two weeks, which was perfect, because it made me really focused. I just woke up very early around 6:30 am, went into the studio and was there the whole day.
Carly: How did you choose Brazil?
Anne-Mei: It’s always been at the top of my list because I always felt drawn to the culture, music, and energy of the people—so alive and vibrant. I’d been to Nicaragua many times because of my ex-boyfriend and got into surfing there.
Carly: Did you get to surf during the residency?
Anne-Mei: Yes! I met another musician. He was a trumpet player, had a car and surfboards. So with him, I could drive to the sea and we would surf a lot. It was like the dream for me, the dream life, surfing the morning and then painting the whole day or surfing afterwards. I hope one day I can establish a way to live like that.Painting and surfing are similar in the sense they’re both quite meditative and both empty my head.
Carly: How long have you been painting for? Will you tell us a bit of how you started to paint?Anne-Mei: I started two or three years ago. I did a bachelor’s in law and then a master’s in migration and refugee law. I loved my masters, because it was exactly my interest field, but during my bachelors, I had a lot of subjects I just had to pass, but I felt no connection with whatsoever. I really needed an outlet so that’s when I started painting to keep my head a little bit sane and as a distraction. I always drew and I always was sketching, but never would really finish things. But I just kept doing it because it made me feel really nice and calm .I had a gap year and then I had more time. So I started to paint a lot and then this residency came and it just slowly started building up. I’m back in Amsterdam now and I have a new studio with other artists so I can really hang up my big canvases and continue. Prior my studio space was my living room.
Carly: What other artists inspire you?
Anne-Mei: When I was in residency, there was a curator who was there to help us with our creative process. He also showed me a lot of very beautiful Brazilian artists. And now I’m in love with this Brazilian painter named Antonio Oba. And I also have been a fan of Chloe Wise for many years. She’s Canadian and mainly paints portraits in a very interesting way.
Carly: Are you currently working as a lawyer?
Anne-Mei: Yes, I just started at a human rights law firm in the refugee section. The days fly by with all the interesting cases. I would love to find a way that I can work with law and also be able to surf and paint. I don’t know if it’s possible, but let’s see.
Carly: What subjects are you painting right now?
Anne-Mei: I love to paint the people that touched me or inspired me in some way. So now I’m working on a very large mirrored portrait of a person I met that I had a really strong connection with. In Brazil, I also made a lot of video footage that I would like to use for something. Currently my theme is the human connection. I would like to incorporate my migration interest in art as well. When I was in Brazil, I spoke for a long time with the curator in residence about this and he gave me many exercises and questions to get to know what he called my “guiding star” behind my work.I would love to showcase more in my work is that I’ve always been very interested in how people move around the globe. For some people, it’s very easy because they were lucky to be born with a strong passport. And for some, it’s because they’re fleeing from their home because there is war or it’s not safe, so people are all moving around the globe, where they connect with each other. The curator gave me a book from a Brazilian writer and wrote that we can change and grow a lot from looking at each other, but still remaining in our own uniqueness. He called this: dancing in difference. So I would like to bring that more on the canvas as well.
Carly: Do you often paint to music?
Anne-Mei: Yes, only actually. In the residency, when I first arrived, I was the only painter, so I was the only person using the atelier. There were big speakers, so I could blast the music very loud. I mostly paint to Brazilian funk, samba, Latin and African music. But I also love to listen to audiobooks. It depends a bit on my mood.
Carly: Are there any workshops that you want to participate in or create?
Anne-Mei: I would love to participate in all the workshops.
Carly: I feel like we’re going to have to nominate you to make us a Brazilian playlist for our camp...
Want to chat to artists Anne-Mei about her time in Brazil? Come have a coffee with her at Basel Art Summer Camp:
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