Lili Sels VanBavaerts (birth name Ellen Vanderstraeten) is a multidisciplinary performer and object explorer.

 

She is fascinated by the multiformity of textiles, abundant materials and small gestures associated with taking care. 

 

Lili creates art installations — tactile habitats for focused, sensory, and interactive performances. Creations that invite reflection, moments of contemplation and stillness (being-still & still-being), from which movement can naturally emerge again.

 

She develops and presents her work outside traditional performance contexts, in collaboration with healthcare and cultural organizations, in semi-public spaces such as hospital gardens, cafeterias, libraries, parks, and public squares.

 

Her projects are characterized by a long-term process and a strong connection to carefully chosen locations. She collaborates with artists from diverse disciplines, as well as with patients, staff, local residents and curious passersby, weaving their creations and expertise into her projects.

 

At present, she co-leads three collaborative projects—Spa for Spirits, Huskrooms, and Celestial Bodies—supported by cultural organizations including workspacebrussels, VIERNULVIER, de Koer, radical_hope_house, C-takt, Cultural Center BUDA, Dr. Guislain Museum and KAOS. The projects are funded by both national and international partners, including Flanders State of the Art, the Flemish Community, and the City of Ghent.​