INSIDE OUT

Community Art Project: Screen-printed sidewalk and wall tiles at two residential complexes in Utrecht Overvecht.

One of the missions of housing association Portaal is to create a home for everyone. I was invited to bring this vision to life.

What makes a place feel like home? Home is deeply personal. In an apartment complex where neighbors remain strangers, where languages don’t align, and stories go unheard, that sense of belonging can fade.

I spoke with 80 residents and photographed personal treasures in their living rooms: a figurine from a grandmother’s trailer, a cloth carried along while fleeing, curtains in the home where her father can no longer find her, a glass jar from Colombia… Each object holds a story. Their story.

Through the screen-printed tiles, the living environment has become more personal and vibrant. The tiles in the entranceways create a sense of homecoming, while those on the sidewalks playfully connect the unseen lives inside with the shared public narrative of the neighborhood.

Commissioned by housing association Portaal Utrecht Overvecht