Ole Aakjær was born in 1962 – into a troubled family, to a difficult childhood and youth. He was a wild soul but also a sensitive child, longing for stability and calm. Early on, he started to express himself creatively. He loved to draw and paint, and creativity became his safe zone – a mental free space, a bubble where he could escape the noise of the world – and his family. He learned to draw professionally, and his technical skills and creative talent earned him a comic book release and a job at a design studio, where he quickly advanced. More responsibility, more work, more money. But the dream of becoming a “real artist” – and escaping the commercial world of design – was always lurking, behind the impressive career and the financial success.

At the age of 29, Ole travelled to Berlin with a friend to experience Pink Floyd’s The Wall. In Berlin, they ran out of money, so he sat down in the street and started to draw and sell portraits – and people loved it. With his pockets full of cash, he experienced a new and liberating freedom. The decision to start his own design studio – and become a free agent – was made then and there. From then on, Ole Aakjær ran his own advertising agency for 25 years. His creative talent made the agency a huge commercial success and the company grew rapidly. His creative mind managed to constantly adapt his business to the ongoing changes of the advertising industry, but life as an agency CEO was too much board room and whiteboard – and not enough art and creativity.

He tried to escape. He sold his agency and started over – with a new smaller agency. Again, he was a great commercial success, and again he was eventually stressed out by the demands of the clients, the never-ending meetings and the boring budgets. The lack of creativity and art with time stole his inspiration and joy of life. Through the years, Ole had always surrounded himself with art and artistic souls; he ran a gallery, exhibited and collected art, helped and inspired artists. Art was always there, constantly intruding, but the expectations of the world and the pursuit of commercial success had always won – drawn him back, when he tried to escape. Until now.