Atelier Home

Fashion designer Zyanya Keizer and the participants of City at Home have created three objects made of reused materials, beads and paint. For six weeks over a period of three months, they worked on three extremely diverse items that vividly portray the various makers’ personalities. City at Home is a meeting place in the neighbourhood of Malburgen in Arnhem that serves as a home-away-from-home for women who feel isolated in Dutch society. By offering a sheltered living room where the women could work together on the same garment, Atelier Home created a close-knit intimacy where fashion served as a common language.

Zyanya Keizer lives and works in Arnhem, but was born in Mexico City. Her experimental, sculptural designs span the junction of fashion and art. With a sharp eye for detail and a big appreciation for artisanal craft, she creates collections that tell a richly layered story. Nature is one of her recurring influences, but philosophical daydreaming, social and cultural issues, or universal emotions can also serve as the starting point for an exploration of materials and textures.

In her latest collection, BINHE, she investigates a variety of aspects of cultural appropriation in fashion. To that end, Zyanya collaborated with Mexican craftspeople and makers who work with traditional techniques and materials. Culture and fairness are two important themes for Zyanya. To her, working with communities at the local level is the only way to affect change in the world, and in the world of fashion. Atelier Home is one example of how she works to bring about that change.

Bureau Ruimtekoers
Bureau Ruimtekoers has developed three ateliers in which a local intercultural community in Arnhem, together with a maker, devises, produces and presents a work for the biennale. The three Ateliers stand as a space for meeting, exchange and connection.

Petra Lunenburg
For seven weeks, fashion illustrator and artist Petra Lunenburg will be sharing her illustrated reports commissioned by State of Fashion. After attending three Ateliers developed by Bureau Ruimtekoers in collaboration with various designers, I created a series of drawings inspired by these sessions.

City at Home in Arnhem-Zuid was the place where designer Zyanya Keizer came together with a group of women from around the world, united by their love for working with their hands and their shared need for a safe and nurturing environment.

The two Ateliers to come will be Atelier Teddy’s & Atelier Batik.

To view the exhibited drawings visit the entrance hall of Rembrandt Theatre. Rembrandt Theater during the Biennale.