Artist

a financial biography of Symen Veenstra

1973

Born. Parents take care of the costs of living: baby food, diapers, toys, et cetera.

1978

Gets first piggy bank. Sturdy little thing with a lock and all. Current whereabouts unknown.

1981

Gets first pocket money.

1983

First bank account. Collected coins disappear into a machine and get transferred into a sum on a piece of paper. Magic.

1984

First time selling something: going door to door offering “kinderpostzegels” (children stamps). Money goes to children with little money.

1985

Going door to door with other children selling discarded toys and other items for Greenpeace, trying to save the whales and the cute little seals. Target reached: whales saved.

1986

Graffiti era begins. Finding creative ways to get access to markers, spray cans and the like.

1989

First summer job. Turning cheeses in a cold cheese warehouse for two weeks. Fodder for a story (in Dutch) years later.

1991-1995

Further summer jobs: Melting butter, stacking boxes, picking flowers, turning flowers into dried flowers. When picking flowers: no work in case of rain. No money too.

1992

First internships: Van3lPrinting office, Wehkamp photo studio, Zedek display design studio. No money changes hands, weird enough.

1994

Enters Art Academy. Gets first Macintosh computer. Parents provide.

Joins a rap group. Money made through doing shows ends up in a collective fund, used for studio time and, seemingly, other things.

1998

Internship at Vorm Vijf. A financial compensation is in place. Combined with the money from the study grants, feels rich for the first time.

2000

First job as a graphic designer, first real salary. No financial worries.

2003

First job ends. Government provides for a couple of months.

Second job as graphic designer. New costs: travelling to work by train.

2005

Buys an apartment in Amsterdam. Grandparents provide part of the money.

2006

Second job ends. Government provides for a couple of months.

Starts new career as an illustrator. Low investment costs: works from home. First consignments, first agent. An era with lots of freedom and varying amounts of money starts.

2014

(check) Sells house to start living together in another city. Timing is off, makes a very limited amount of money.

2015

Has daughter on the way. Starts renting a workspace in town to make space for incoming daughter.

2016

New costs arise as ex-girlfriend leaves with daughter to live far away. Public transportation, rent, replacement furniture, legal bills.

2018

Sees seeing changes in the way the image is appreciated. Starts thinking about money a lot.

2019

Starts the Valutagrafie project.