What is beauty? What makes us see or experience something as beautiful, and why? In this workshop we’ll work to better understand and expand a familiar binary: beauty and ugliness. We’ll work as a group to consider a range of perspectives on these topics and we’ll also find some common ground. By the end of the workshop you’ll take home a small archive of individual and shared ideas about two concepts that have captivated artists, writers and thinkers throughout the ages.

This is the first in a series of three workshops exploring beauty, ugliness and transformation. You may choose to join all three workshops, or pick and choose what works for you. They’re fun independently, but the exploration of the topic gets deeper if you want to join all three. Stay posted for more information and dates for the rest of the series.

Come spend a couple hours with Shayna exploring beauty. No previous writing or art experience is necessary. This workshop is process-oriented and fun for any level. Your facilitator is an empathy-led educator focused on making a safe and inclusive working environment for everyone.

Your facilitator:

Shayna Schapp is a queer Artist Educator based in Amsterdam. She has over 20 years experience working at the crossroads of creativity, pedagogy and social justice. Most notably, she spent 10 years as a core instructor with Interactive/Media/Design (I/M/D) at The Royal Academy of Art in The Hague, and 6 years as the Community Art Developer for LEAD, an after-school arts program in Amsterdam.



Shayna’s artistic focus is photography and drawing. Her work has been in solo and group exhibitions in the USA, NL, and UK, is part of public and private collections, and has appeared in publications such as Versal Journal, Pigeonhole, and SMART Papers.