Anniek Verholt is a Dutch artist based in London. After years of painting and drawing and having trained and worked as an Art Therapist; she was awarded a scholarship for a MA in Fine Arts in the UK in 2003. The technical and versatile nature of glass made her decide to transfer to the MA Glass course (based at the National Glass Centre in Sunderland) which she successfully completed in 2004.

My art is greatly influenced by my work as a therapist, my ongoing research in psychology, meditation and interest in cultural anthropology. In recent years my art has become more about the essence of space, both external and internal. In short, I am interested in Life, whatever makes us feel alive and connected, and above all, it’s purpose, richness and potential.

A strong attraction to natural textures, colour, light, contrast and space led to the development of my creative language through which I connect with the world and share my ideas.

I work with a variety of materials and art forms including sculpture, painting, video and installation. Artist Anniek Verholt

Art being a form of communication has always been Anniek Verholt’s core focus. She continues to explore this side of the arts through international exhibitions, collaborations, community projects, workshops and therapeutic application.

One of the art projects artist Anniek Verholt is most proud of is Wings of Opportunity

Wings of Opportunity is a project that started in 2010 in a primary school in Hackney, East London. Anniek Verholt led a clinical and creative service in the school supporting children with emotional and psycho-social needs. For this project children were invited to create a pair of wings out of paper. Anniek Verholt traveled that year to several destinations around the world with these wings where she photographed and filmed them. The film ‘Wings’ was created and the children, often from deprived backgrounds who don’t get the chance to travel, in this way they got to see the adventures of their wings on the different locations in the world.

Children talked about opportunities in life and what they would do if they had wings. The glass wings created and exhibited alongside this film are the embodiment of this ‘spirit’, a spirit of infinite possibilities.

Wings of Opportunity involved over 350 children in London and abroad. The project resulted in a series of photographs, a film and glass sculptures exhibited at a solo exhibition in Hong Kong. And they continue to fly around the world with an intention to lift and inspire.