Guess What Ties Together Old Shoes, Gossip, and Half-Naked Dancing? (Hint: Art-Related)

Hey, how are you doing?👋

The last days of May are here, and it feels like we’re standing on the edge of something good, even great.

Maybe it’s just me, coming from the north (from Estonia) where summer carries a certain magic: garden parties and barbecues (+ the quiet obligation to pick blackcurrants before they overripen), bike rides and swims in sunlit lakes (followed, of course, by nightly battles with mosquitoes). But beneath it all, what we really long for is that joy coming from routine-free rhythm. The feeling that we now have time — time for everything.

This week, I had a pleasure to speak with the coolest illustrator from Greece — Nadia Valavani (@oldbrownshoestories) — and let’s just say, her way of seeing the world through forgotten shoes, humor, and her weirdly wonderful characters definitely sparked something in me. 💛🎉 It embodies the artistic freedom of doing what feels true to you, and I so much love that.

Can’t wait for you to dive into our conversation. It’s full of color, cool and great recommendations.

But before this, I want to say: thank you. This is week 16 of the newsletter — that is four full months of showing up, creating, and quietly building something meaningful together. I’m grateful you're here. 🙏🏻

2. RIP Sebastião Salgado: The Man Who Showed the World Its Harsh Truths

Legendary photographer Sebastião Salgado has died at 81. Salgado had faced ongoing health issues since contracting malaria in the 1990s.

Salgado traveled everywhere, from the Amazon to the Arctic, capturing real people, real pain, and real beauty in black and white. His photos showed what war, poverty, and climate change actually look like.

He once said, “Photos are my life, nothing else.”  📷🖤

He even used the money from his work to help rebuild forests in Brazil and fund a limb factory in Cambodia. Some people said his photos were too intense - others said they were unforgettable. Visit his Instagram page here.

3. Marina Abramović’s Wildest Performance Yet

Performance art icon Marina Abramović is going big. Like, 70 performers, 13 rituals, sacred folklore big.

Her newest piece, “Balkan Erotic Epic”, debuts this October at Aviva Studios in Manchester. It’s her most ambitious work ever, rooted in ancient Balkan traditions. Expect dancers, singers, musicians, and some intense scenes: storm-banishing nudity, fertility rites, and spiritual breast massages (yep).

Abramović, now 78, says the goal is to show “poetry, desperation, pain, hope… and our own mortality.”

This will tour internationally: Manchester first. Barcelona next. Bold doesn’t even begin to cover it. Link.

ARTISTS, UNFILTERED: Our New Artist Interview Is Live 💥

What do worn-out shoes, gossiping neighbors, half-naked (wearing gloves) motel room dancers, and soft bursts of color have in common?

They all live inside the whimsical world of Nadia Valavani, the Greek illustrator behind Old Brown Shoe Stories.

Her art feels like a gentle wink — full of humor, hidden histories, and quiet observations about everyday life.

One drawing might make you laugh. Another might stop you mid-scroll and make you wonder: What’s really going on here? What are they feeling? What are they not saying?

In this interview, Nadia shares:

• why she draws the people she does,

• about growing up in a small seaside town in Greece,

• and the unexpected thing she’d do if she weren’t an artist.

+ Her creative fuel? Think bold artists, a book, and a favorite filmmaker you won’t guess.

Read the full interview 🔗 here.

p.s. — don’t miss out her Instagram page:

(there’s plenty more of her work there): @oldbrownshoestories 

A Little Extra: European Museums That Make You Go “Wait, What?” 👀

Here are some strange museums for curious minds. Did you know that…

• In Zagreb, you can visit the Museum of Broken Relationships.

• In Warsaw, Europe’s only museum of cold war era neon signs.

• In Tallinn, there is the world’s first banned books museum.

• And now, in Helsinki, the world’s first computer virus museum just opened. (Khmm.. I hope it’s not too interactive?).

p.s. 🩵 THIS diagram (what a great reminder):

Courtesy of Dave Walker, who draws clever diagrams about cycling, current events, and household problems. Follow him on Instagram and don’t miss his free Diagram Club newsletter :)