My name is Ellen Vanderstraeten, but everyone calls me Lili, a name I cherish.
As a performer and creator, fascinated by co-creation, disappearing rituals, and the multiformity of textiles,
I specialize in connecting art and care.
My work departs from daily routines of (self)care such as walking, sleeping, cooking, reading ... which I experimentally loosen from their monotonous patterns to create curious and new sensory experiences. I work in nomadic ways where I temporarily nest in different contexts and see what emerges from my surroundings.
I called this practice Huskrooms.
Since 2020, I have co-led Spa for Spirits, an experimental and artistic wellness center run by otherworldly creatures. Since 2019 I co-curate Celestial Bodies, an international performing arts platform that emphasizes shared practices through collective action.
Contact
+32 (0)4 98 03 90 63
" In 2024, I received a two-year grant for a reorientation program to deepen and intensify my current work as a caregiver and my work as an artist within the cultural landscape.
Since September 2023, I have been sharing a studio with the theater collective Lucinda Ra at the Doctor Guislain Museum, where I collaboratively create and experience artworks with residents, artists, and healthcare staff. I also had a residency at the Psycho-Social Center Sint-Alexius-Elsene in collaboration with KAOSvzw, supported by Workspacebrussels.
Since 2021, I have led the project Spa for Spirits in collaboration with Leonie Buysse, a wellness center run by otherworldly creatures. We develop and present work in various environments supported by cultural institutions. We work with experts in architecture & bodywork, chefs & food lovers, graphic & fashion designers.
From June to November 2021, I led the project Konijnenberg / colour me mountain in the social housing neighborhood of Sint-Lambertusberg,
a co-creative work that organized interventions in and around the housing blocks together with the residents. This was supported by the Community Center Op-Weule and VGC, in collaboration with Florencia Orlandino.
In 2018, I conducted research at the University of Arts in Reykjavik (IS), Department of MFA Performing Arts. From this emerged 'Celestial Bodies,' an international platform for the exchange of performance practices that has editions in European countries. I co-organize the entire execution and development of Celestial Bodies with six other artists.
In 2019, I became part of the collective Senselab, where I co-organized workshops at Concordia University in Montréal (CA) in collaboration with individuals on the spectrum of neurodiversity.
In 2018, I created an artistic and sensorial beautysalon for ENTER BXL with the support of the Flemish community commission, organization Demosvzw, and community center Nekkersdal.
In 2017, I graduated in theater directing from the Royal Institute of Theater, Cinema and Sound. During my school career, I presented work at Campo, Bozar, La Vallée, and DanscentrumJette. With the support of Toestand, I created the performance 'Everybody Nathalia Maslova' in Ukraine. "