Nelleke van Lomwel graduated from the Willem de Kooning Academy’s Advertising & Beyond department in 2019. Since then, she has shaped a multidisciplinary creative path as a painter, writer and editor. In this interview, she reflects on her time at the academy, her path through the advertising world, and how a major life shift led her back to painting.
How did you end up at WdKA, and why did you choose Advertising?
After high school I started a Music and Entertainment Studies programme in Tilburg. We had some concept development classes, but I felt like they didn’t really go anywhere. A friend of mine was studying Advertising at WdKA, and I helped her with a few assignments. That got me excited. I went to an open day and ended up in the Advertising department. My first thought was: this is the last thing I’d ever choose, advertising is not for real makers. But then I thought: maybe it’s worth studying something you think you dislike, just to understand it better.
I was definitely drawn to it, even if I had a lot of assumptions. But once I started, I quickly realized I had found the right place. I didn’t even really know what an art academy was before that.
What was your experience like at WdKA?
It was very mixed. WdKA is such an intense place. But overall, it was an incredibly positive experience for my creative growth. I really got to know my own artistic practice over those five years, and I was given the space to explore that. It made me confident in a way I had never been before. Before WdKA, I was pretty unsure of myself. That changed completely.
What I loved most was working with fellow students: seeing what everyone was busy with, getting inspired by that. What I hadn’t expected is that “advertising” doesn’t really cover what you actually learn. You develop a full project from start to finish, conceptually and in terms of production. That was the core of the program for me.
From the beginning, we were encouraged to make things from our own lived experience. My father passed away early on during my studies, and I made a lot of work around death and personal themes. I was supported in bringing that work out into the world, beyond just myself. That kind of practice fits me as a maker. I need to start from something real. I was a bit nervous and anxious at first, but I used the projects to push myself out of that. It was a really intense time, but a period of growth for sure.
What happened after graduation?
I started freelancing right away, mostly as a copywriter. I had already started doing that during my final year, thanks to connections I made through the academy. I felt like I could immediately keep up professionally. I understood the language, I was on the right level.
But I quickly ran into the limits of that world. Advertising is very commercial, obviously, and on the academy we were always focused on finding the best idea. But in practice, it of course doesn’t work like that. I learned that I’m a very autonomous maker, in advertising there are so many people involved who make decisions that can water the idea down. So after a while I started to grow out of it, I was hungry for more.
So after a while I stepped back from the advertising industry. I started studying sociology for a few months, and then went on to do a Master’s in Artistic Research. I continued freelancing in advertising on the side, but I didn’t feel so tied to it anymore. The master’s was amazing but also a culture shock. I quickly learned that my personal success and performance was way less important there, which provided me with a healthier, sustainable working rhythm.
During that time, my health was rapidly declining. I was met with a lot of pain, heart disfunction and constantly dislocating joints. Which left me unable to walk for a few months. I was later diagnosed with disabling chronic illness, which changed to course of my life. With my 'new' body, working in advertising was no longer an option. In the meantime, I turned to drawing and painting as a way to cope with this new reality. Art became an escape - transporting me to places I could no longer reach physically. What began as a coping mechanism soon blossomed into a new career path. For my master’s thesis I dove headfirst into Disability Theory, researching ableism and trying to find value in a body that we’ve culturally learned to reject. Next to the theoretic research I created a series of paintings with it, with which I graduated.
Did you experience a sense of uncertainty after graduation? How did you deal with that?
Absolutely. Especially because I value my autonomy so much, and at the same time I needed to earn money. Freelancing gave me freedom, but also stress. And when I got sick, that uncertainty became even more existential. But that’s when I started creating from a deeper necessity. I just didn’t want to spend my time doing work that didn’t mean anything to me. That changed everything.
Can you tell us about your current work?
I work at NTR now, part-time in HR and part-time as a podcast editor. Alongside that, I paint three days a week. I’ve mostly stepped away from advertising. I still think like an ad person sometimes - it’s ingrained - but after such a major life change, the whole field just didn’t fit me anymore. I want to sped the energy that I do have on things that I find meaningful.
