Photo: Annemieke van der Togt
Interview: Paul Hofman
During the first edition of The Voice of Holland, Shary-An broke through to the general public. She now has three albums to her name and scored hits with the songs Never Played The Bass and Summer of My Life. "If you listen to my song Save You then you know how I feel about this year's theme! Believe in yourself and don't let anyone knock you out. That's important and necessary.
Interview
"IT'S OKAY TO BE GAY...IN ANY CULTURE"
Pride Amsterdam is proud of its new ambassadors. In the list of names, lesbian singer Shary-An Nivillac immediately springs to mind. She recently concluded her 'Project Me' tour. With heart and soul, she will work during Pride Amsterdam to increase the visibility and emancipation of LGBTI people. "I'm going all out. After all, you are who you are, aren't you?"
The Antillean-Dutch native enthusiastically talks about her background. "At 13, I was already singing in a local church choir," she says. Her talent stood out and so she decided to take part in the hugely popular television programme 'The Voice of Holland'. Shary-An, incidentally, was one of the youngest contestants ever. She ended up in the semi-finals where she eventually lost out to her competitor. In the end, the much-discussed Ben Saunders took the honours.
Her first steps on stage had been taken. Since then, the singer has two record albums to her name. Recently, her latest was released under the title 'Project Me'. Hits she scored with the songs "Never Played The Bass" and "Summer of My Life. "At the moment, I am busy making my dream come true. It's incredibly hard work but I'm enjoying it immensely." Ambitious she certainly is. "With my music, I want to cross borders. But first my focus is still on the Netherlands, mind you." Then she continues laughing: "And if everything goes well with my music career, I would like to start my own coffee shop one day." Singer Gordon went before her. For Shary-An, the art world now holds few secrets.
Currently, she not only performs regularly as a singer but also works in education during the day, coordinating projects in deprived neighbourhoods in The Hague. She enjoys doing this, she says.
When she was asked to become an ambassador, she immediately responded enthusiastically. "I thought it was really cool. This way I can contribute to this so important organisation with my voice and performances." Pride Amsterdam is close to her heart. "Everywhere I can I will show my face. I will encourage the party and celebrate freedom and love with everyone. The fact that we have that freedom to organise Pride Amsterdam is already unique in the world. And we will definitely do that well again this year. I also fully identify with this year's theme as a lesbian woman. I think you should be who you want to be. Being gay is okay in any culture."
She is proud to be a role model as an ambassador. "It sounds very simple but for some people it's damn hard to express who you are. But you don't have to be ashamed of anything, do you?"
Research shows that homosexuality is quite difficult in bicultural environments. "For LGBTI people who have grown up in this, it is important to know that there are others like them. I want to show that they are not alone," she says enthusiastically. The fact that she will soon be on Amsterdam's Pride stages with her band and see the audience singing and dancing along gives her a big kick. "That's what I do it for. I get a lot of positive energy from it. It's just super cool!"
She falls silent for a moment when anti-gay violence is brought up. Especially in recent months, the number of incidents increased. The image of tolerant Netherlands is showing cracks. "It's fucking sad. I have no other words for it. I really don't understand how people can do this. It is the ultimate proof that still not everyone can be who you want to be. This should absolutely not happen again." She herself has never faced violence. "It seems like a terrible thing to experience. My motto is to enjoy being yourself and then it will all work out. But I have to adjust this a little bit because so unfortunately it is not for everyone." Through her ambassadorship, she will be more than able to propagate the theme 'This is my Pride' say her admirers. "Because 'in the end' we are all the same," she says. The anthem is close to her heart, she says.
With her music, the pop artist will undoubtedly splash off the capital stages.
Shary-An can't wait for the Pride celebrations to erupt.
Pride Ambassador since 2017
