DonaDíés = Gift day
An invitation to discover the hidden gifts of everyday life.
All around us, small gifts are waiting to be discovered: in encounters, stories, art, films, experiences, moments of wonder, and in each other. However, they are not always seen.
DonaDíés invites you to discover these hidden gifts of everyday life. Through documentaries, visual storytelling, film education, interactive workshops and art, you discover new perspectives, insights, inspiration, and a deeper understanding of yourself and each other.
Look → Find → Discover → Wonder → Share
Because a discovered gift can become the beginning of a gift for someone else.
Would you like to discover them too?
Everything starts with one simple step:
Photo: Michel Mölder
Look
When I look, I see
When I see, I discover
When I discover, I experience
When I experience, I learn
Where I learn, I am Inspired
And when I got inspired
I took a moment to look!
The art of looking is truly seeing.
Because seeing has the power to enrich us.
Only when we truly see can we find the path to understanding.
So look, see, discover and let yourself be enriched.
Désirée Salman
Driven by the belief that hidden gifts, insights, and stories can be discovered all around us, DonaDíés creates documentaries, film education, interactive workshops, art, and visual storytelling that invite people to discover The Art of Seeing with Understanding: In this way, space is created for new insights, broader perspectives, and meaningful conversations that connect people
Find
Who is it for?
For organizations in education, healthcare, business, the cultural sector, and social impact projects that want to build greater understanding, better collaboration, and humanity.
Because in a world that overwhelms us with images, yet teaches us too little to truly see, The Art of Seeing with understanding is - not optional.....it is essential.
Because what you feel, you remember.
What you understand, changes you.
And what changes you deepens who you are.
Our creations invite people to look beyond first impressions. They open conversations, broaden perspectives, and help people feel more seen, understood, and connected.
For DonaDíés, visual storytelling is not simply a way to make stories visible; it is a tool for understanding, exploration, and awareness.
That is why DonaDíés doesn't choose what is faster or more fleeting, but what is real: stories that are sincere, pure, and authentic.
Because the most meaningful discoveries happen when time seems to stands still.
Discover
Why Does DonaDíés Exist?
We live in a world filled with images, opinions, and constant speed.
Differences are visible, yet many stories remain unseen.
And although there are more than 6,800 languages that help us understand one another, many people still feel unseen or misunderstood. Not because they have nothing to say, but because the way they think, feel, and see the world is not always understood.
What is missing?
The art of seeing with understanding.
Learning to understand yourself and each other better.
By asking questions.
By staying curious.
By discovering each other's perspectives.Not by making assumptions…but by seeking understanding.
When we pause and truly look without judgment, with openness and curiosity, we create space for nuance, self-awareness, and empathy.
And from that space, genuine human connections can grow. Because when we truly see one another, understanding grows. And where understanding grows, space is created for peace, safety, and connection.
That is why DonaDíés creates documentaries, film education programs, art, and workshops that invite people to discover The Art of Seeing with Understanding.
Not to tell you what to think,
but to help you discover new ways of seeing.
Our dream?
A world where understanding is chosen over judgment,
because everyone deserves to be truly seen.
JOIN THE DONADÍÉS MOVEMENT
By purchasing a meaningful gift, making a donation, or collaborating with us, you contribute in your own unique way.
To yourself, to someone else, or to the world.
Sometimes through a simple gesture that says:
“I see you. I believe in you.”
Sometimes by creating space for stories that make that possible for others.
With every contribution, you helps us continue creating stories that touch, invite people to slow down, and look beyond first impressions. You also support the development of educational documentaries, film education, and art projects that create space for understanding, connection, and humanity. In doing so, you contribute to a world where we look more broadly and understand more deeply.
And together, we are building a new, yet essential discipline:
THE ART OF SEEING WITH UNDERSTANDING.
Because in a world that overwhelms us with images, yet teaches us too little how to truly see, The Art of Seeing with Understanding is not optional… it’s essential.
Our ultimate dream?
A world where understanding reduces conflict, strengthens collaboration, and helps people flourish. Will you join us in this journey?
💛 A small gift can make room for something truly meaningful.
Photo: Art Eindhoven
DonaDíés:
DonaDíés develops documentaries, interactive workshops, film education, and art that invite people to discover The Art of Seeing with Understanding.
Where we truly see, wonder begins.
Where there is wonder, space opens.
Where space opens, curiosity grows.
Where curiosity grows, understanding grows.
Where understanding grows, connection grows.
And where connection grows, peace becomes possible
Photo: Michel Mölder
Marvel
Hi. This is me, Désirée—although after five minutes, most people simply call me Dees. By nature, I’m curious, full of wonder,enthusiastic and always eager to explore. Thankfully, I've never lost that childlike way of seeing the world.
I’ve always been fascinated by understanding and misunderstanding. That’s why I observe, paint, interview, film, and ask questions.
Because often, right where curiosity begins the real gifts are hidden: stories, insights, and encounters that move us, inspire us, and set something in motion.
That's where I discover what inspires me and fills me with wonder. And what fills me with wonder, I share. Not as an answer, but as an invitation to discover The Art of Seeing with Understanding.
And I don’t do this alone. DonaDíés grows alongside a small crew of creators and an ever-growing circle of young people, children, educators, storytellers and curious minds.
Without their openness, trust, and stories, there would be nothing to pass on.
I believe in learning by inspiring each other!
Let's learn less facts and more what it is to be human.
Désirée Salman
Are you normal?
When you're young, you're adventurous, curious, and full of wonder.
When you're young, you want to explore, you want to try new things, you want grow up and do amazing things.
When you're young, you want to be an adult because adults are free!
When we teach children to become adults, we often teach them how to be normal.
When we teach children to become adults, we teach them to spend more time improving what they are least good at.
When we teach children to become adults, we teach them to stop being young and start being sensible.
But what if children taught adults how to become pure again?
Because do you consider yourself normal? What is normal? Does normal even exist?
Or could it be that the world is full of wonderful gifts that have simply become hidden in our pursuit of a “normal” adult life?
And that along the way we have let go of what comes naturally to us: curiosity, enthusiasm, imagination and wonder. Because after all, everyone want to be normal… right?
Perhaps, in growing up could it be that we have forgotten how to play outside. How to look at the world the way a child does: with wonder, with openness, and without judgment. What might we discover again if we embraced change and welcomed being different?
Step outside your box
Remove your label
And dare to be different
Oh, wait…I mean, dare to be normal. Because being different is perfectly normal!
We have Diversity. Now let’s use it wisely!
Désirée Salman
ART GALLERY
Under the name DonaDíés, artist Désirée Salman creates modern, vibrant and colourful paintings. Through her abstract artwork, she hopes to share a simple yet powerful philosophy: “You can only be normal by being different”. No one is the same, yet every person possesses qualities that deserve to be seen. Just as with all her creations, truly looking matters. We may not all see the same things or experience the world in the same way, but we can choose to remain open to the unknown and discover the best in ourselves and in one another.
As an astronomer once told me: The universe functions so well because every star and every planet does what is does best.
Maybe that applies to people, too.
" HOW ARE YOU?"
Perhaps the most frequently asked—and least answered—question of all. Because some answers only reveal themselves when we dare to look beyond first impressions.
Connect
You only find something
when you dare to be curious.
You only discover something
when you dare to be genuinely interested.
So, are you curious?
About a collaboration, an interactive workshop, film education, or an initiative that invites people to discover The Art of Seeing with Understanding and brings into view what might otherwise remain unseen?
Then I would love to hear from you.
Because greater understanding often begins with a single sincere follow-up question.
+31 (0) 641 06 1868
📍 Based in the Netherlands — active in mind and heart
worldwide.
Follow & Share
What you see and experience stays with you.
Perhaps it has touched you.
Made you see something differently.
And perhaps you'll do something with it.
Would you like to stay connected with DonaDíés? Follow us on social media or receive inspiration in your inbox. And share it with people you would like to invite to discover The Art of Seeing with Understanding.
Quote
North east south west
where ever you go
wherever you are
you will be inspired by what somebody tells or what somebody shows
So Look, find, discover and marvell
And find your inspiration goals
Because I believe you learn best when you are in the inspiration flow