Welcome to SOTA Sessions Volume 3, our edit where we interview creative innovators across the world to hear about their artistic influences and journeys.

We recently caught up with SOTA artist Emmely Elgersma, a sculptor, ceramicist, and football coach, who talks candidly about her art-making process, recent residency in Korea, and her passionate interest in sustainability. Emmely's work has been exhibited globally, notably at The Saatchi Gallery with SOTA and and has collaborated with the likes of Selfridges, London Design Festival, TikTok, Johnnie Walker and Sandqvist to name a few.

Q: What does a typical art-making day look like for you?

A: "Each day really varies, it totally depends on what I’m working on... what admin needs doing, and what mood I’m in. I tend to start the day slow, because I prefer working late into the night when I’m not distracted by emails or catching up with friends. It’s usually either everything happening at once and total chaos, or I’m just restless, tidying up the studio and flat."

Q: You recently did a residency in Korea. How has this influenced your work?

A: "Korea was just stunning, I still feel so lucky to have been awarded a residency there. It felt like a completely different world, and for the first time in my career, I felt like I could breathe. The month went way too quickly and I would love to return. Seoul in particular. The nature, the slower pace of life, and of course the food, all played a huge part in helping me develop a new body of work for Korean Craft Week. But what’s stayed with me most is the feeling of calm and being able to walk around the city in the evenings without that built-up anxiety you get in London."

Q: Why are sustainability and design important to you — and to the wider art world?

A: "It actually freaks me out how much we waste. From Amazon boxes to egg cartons and I’m just as guilty, but I try my best through my process. For me, sustainability has become part of my creative challenge: seeing how I can give discarded materials a second life. It’s also a big part of my design process how to reimagine waste into something beautiful or useful."

Q: How important is collaboration in your work?

A: "Super important! A) I get lonely in the studio, so opening up a dialogue with other artists or brands keeps things exciting and sparks new ideas. And B) it’s just fun to work with other people."

Q: What’s been your favourite brand collaboration so far?

A: "Probably Sandqvist (the Swedish bag company). We’ve stayed in touch since our first collaboration, which makes it special. Whenever they’re in London we meet for drinks, and I do the same when I’m in Stockholm. I think the best collaborations are the ones that turn into real friendships as it feels more authentic when people like you as a person as well as your art."

Q: Did you make it into the Guinness World Records?

A: "No comment."

Q: I love your colourfully named lamps — Chef’s Kiss, Stamford Hill, Happy Meal... how did you come up with those titles?

A: "Ha! No one’s ever asked me that before. I used to be a musician (well, tried), and I guess I treat the titles like I did song names, sort of reflections of what’s been going on in my head while I was creating the pieces. Sometimes they’re deeply personal, and sometimes it’s as simple as, “This red-and-yellow lamp reminds me of a Happy Meal box.” They’re like little time stamps which may be meaningless to someone else, but full of memories for me."

Q: You teach art to children — often from challenging backgrounds. Can you tell us more about that?

A: "I work with children from all different backgrounds because I believe art should be accessible to everyone. I only had one really good art teacher at school, and I still carry her spirit with me. If I can help even one child the way she helped me at that age, then I feel I’m doing something right, which could also be a combination of guilt in being an artist as a job, as I feel like it is a luxury (even though I've worked very hard) but also the art world is lacking normal people... I’m rambling but you know what I mean. It’s a tough question this."

Q: What do you take from that experience — creatively or personally?

A: "It’s grounding. When you spend so much time alone in the studio, teaching reminds you there’s a whole world out there that's full of incredible people with feelings and stories. It pulls me out of my head and reminds me why connection matters and there are so many remarkable people out there."

Q: My Year of Rest & Relaxation, from the Saatchi exhibition with SOTA, is an intriguing piece. What inspired the name and concept?

A: "I was reading the book just before making the sculpture, and I started thinking about how nice it would be spending a year in bed, just resting and switching off from everything. It’s kind of stupid and impractical, but it felt right for the piece. It was inter-winded with the fact the first exhibition I ever saw was at Saatchi and Emin’s bed was my favourite piece in it so it kind of felt poetic merging the two."

Thank you for your time Emmely. Take a look at her full body of works available on SOTA here.

Stay tuned for more SOTA Sessions.