“For me, art is not a style, but a space where the soul can breathe freely and be nurtured.”
–Yasmin Shamaily
My name is Yasmin. I was born and raised in Iran, and at the age of nineteen I left everything behind to begin a new life in the Netherlands with my mother. Arriving here felt like starting over like becoming a child again in an unfamiliar world. It took years before I felt a sense of belonging. For a long time, I lived with the feeling of being in between, not fully at home anywhere.
I searched for home in people and places.
Until one day, I made a quiet but decisive choice:
home is not something outside of me it is something I must learn to feel within.
Through deep inner work and creativity, I slowly began to build that sense of safety inside myself. Art was always present in this process. In Iran, I studied graphic design, and after arriving in the Netherlands I explored various creative disciplines, including photography, fine art, and fashion design. Although these paths taught me a lot, I felt something essential was missing depth, meaning, and true connection.
That changed during a period in which I worked with children in an asylum center, while simultaneously going through a personal mental crisis myself. There, I witnessed firsthand how healing art can be. This experience became a turning point and led me to study Art Therapy.
Around the age of thirty, I entered a profound inner journey, using therapy and art as tools to rebuild, remember, and reclaim myself. Through this process, I grew into my identity as an Iranian- Dutch woman rooted in both softness and strength.
I want to be honest: my healing journey has not been easy, and it is not finished. I am still healing. Still peeling back layers. Still coming home to my essence.
To the part of me that believes we are more than our roles, histories, or labels and that true connection begins with radical inclusion: of all parts of ourselves, and of one another.
How My Story Shapes My Work
My work is deeply shaped by my lived experience. Building a new life in a different country taught me how profoundly language, culture, and community influence our sense of safety and belonging. For many years, I missed a place where I could fully be myself, where my emotions were not questioned, but acknowledged.
During my training and internships, I became increasingly aware of how easily cultural differences can lead to misunderstanding, but also how powerful recognition and curiosity can be. Sometimes, something as simple as genuine interest or music from someone’s culture can create a feeling of home. These experiences inspired the foundation of Kabila Healing Arts.
Kabila means tribe or community. While building it, I encountered my own fears and uncertainties and learned that working with people in practice is very different from theory. Each session brought new insights. I witnessed participants arrive tense and guarded, and leave more open and grounded. Gradually, I began to see my own past not as a burden, but as a source of wisdom.
My Way of Working
Through extensive experimentation, I developed a multidisciplinary way of working. In my sessions, I combine visual art-making with mindfulness, somatic exercises, movement, breathwork, and cultural rituals such as shared play or food.
When reflecting with participants on what they experienced as most meaningful and calming, three elements consistently emerged: my presence, visual language, and mindfulness. These form the core of my work.
My view of the human being is holistic and relational. I see people as an interconnected whole of body, emotions, soul, and relationships. I am inspired by the wisdom of Rumi, who speaks of growth, movement, love, and connection as pathways to healing, as well as by principles of Nonviolent Communication, which emphasize shared human needs and compassionate understanding.
I believe that every person carries inner wisdom, and that healing unfolds when there is space for expression, safety, gentleness, and connection. My role is to offer attunement and presence, creating a supportive environment where people can land, regulate, and open to the creative process.
Kabila Healing Arts
Within Kabila Healing Arts, I guide both group sessions and one-on-one journeys that invite people to create, reflect, and reconnect.
Spaces where silence is honored.
Where art becomes a language beyond words.
Where healing unfolds gently, together.
I walk beside others not to fix or to lead, but to be present. To offer a space where what has been hidden can become visible. Where you are welcome, just as you are.
