In his artistic practice Zeno Aerts investigates the relationship between colour, materiality, and locality. By working with organic pigments from the land and shifting the scope from the distant to our direct surroundings, he opens the possibility for new ways to experience our environment and our place in it. As an environmentally engaged designer/ artist, Zeno has developed a philosophical sensibility to both existential human subjects and the natural world. Because he comes from a design oriented background, he can rely on a broad material knowledge to push for unique results in his art.

Constant Fazilleau is a ceramic artist based in Paris. His practice has developed through personal exploration, a long-term residency at La Mine, and nomadic research. Working exclusively by hand, mainly with coil-building techniques, he creates both functional and sculptural pieces, distinguished by their refined finish and sensitive relationship to the material.

His current research unfolds through the concept of “Domestic Theatre”, a reflection on the silent poetry of everyday objects and their performative presence. In Lanzarote, he continues this series by addressing the issue of water scarcity, engaging directly with the island’s landscape, arid climate, and the essential gestures of hand-building.

His work moves between raw expression and precise form, sometimes colorful, sometimes somber — always charged with a tactile, emotional, and imaginative energy.

Originally from northern Italy and now based in Paris, Guglielmo Dalvit began his musical journey with classical training in cello and saxophone. Over time, however, his passion shifted from performance to composition, a pursuit that captured his interest from an early age. 

His work often features spontaneous vocal snippets from real telephone conversations, adding a raw, human element to his soundscapes. Gugliemo also collaborates with studio musicians from around the globe, enriching his compositions with diverse musical influences. 

DISCOGRAPHY 

A New Day, 2020 

First electro-acoustic release. A New Day record features spontaneous vocal messages received from friends, used as voice-overs. The realness of true conversations adds a personal, yet cinematic touch to the music. 

Plus Fort Que Moi, 2021 

Original motion picture soundtrack for a short movie by Constant Fazilleau, selected at Vienna International Film Award 2022. 

Piano Tapes, 2021 

Piano compositions, interpreted by Italian pianist and orchestra conductor Simone Sarno. 

Full Moon, 2023 

Piano composition, interpreted by Fatjon Zefi. 

Il Sole La Notte, 2023 

Cinematic composition for trumpet solo, interpreted by Spanish trumpetist Josue Garcia. 

Confusing Feeling, 2024 

Instrumental electronic pop-rock release. 

Antje Lang and Chris Roche are joining us as Theophilus, their musical collaboration that explores how art can foster genuine human connection in an increasingly fragmented world. Having observed systemic challenges through their work at the intersection of climate change, finance, and placemaking, they believe nurturing community and shared humanity offers the most meaningful path forward.

During their residency at Hektor, Theophilus will develop compositions exploring themes of vulnerability, genuine exchange, and the rediscovery of connection. Their music will draw from conversations, observations, and the rhythms of daily life at the farm.

As a solo artist, Antje uses music to work through complex questions—sometimes finding answers, sometimes better articulating questions she didn't know she had. Her album Notes to a Doctor examined how we exist meaningfully in a world that leaves little space for critical thought in the face of mortality and uncertainty.

Their work moves between intimate questioning and expansive connection, sometimes vulnerable, sometimes resolute—always charged with a sincere search for authentic human exchange through sound.

Find them at:

• @theophilus.philosophus

• @antjelang

• oururbannature.com

Giorgia Lenzi (b.1994, Italy) is a photographer with an interest in telling stories through an intimate and diaristic approach. Her imagery is guided by poetry and focuses on nature and the possibility of the landscape to explore memories and create emotional reflections.

She also works with archival photography, cyanotype and collage.

Celina J. August (b. Celina Schumm, 1996, Germany) is a multidisciplinary artist currently based in London and Berlin. Her body of work consists of paintings, sculpture and tattooing, guided by an intuitive, material-driven process.

In both ceramics and painting, the piece evolves on its own, telling her what it wants to become. It’s about both removing and adding, allowing the creation to emerge naturally and create biomorphic forms. Her works resemble otherworldly forms and shapes and are based on a continuous exploration, which are influenced by different places.

Having lived across Europe and Latin America, August’s frequent moves have shaped her practice and style. The themes of transformation and the unknown are central to her work, serving as a reminder that every captured moment is part of a larger, interconnected experience.

Elise Guillen is a multidisciplinary artist from Massachusetts. She received her BFA in Illustration in 2016. Two years later, her love for analog storytelling led to a solo cross country move to Portland, Oregon. Here, Elise began working on stop-motion animated productions for clients such as Netflix and Nickelodeon, while also delving deeper into her personal mixed media collage practice.

The collage process of assembling and re-contextualizing disparate elements into new meaning is a synthesis that mirrors her day job in stop-motion, meticulously piecing together a larger narrative frame by frame. Elise’s collage work examines tension between structure and spontaneity, a curiosity for the human figure, intuition, and sustainability. Her work has been recognized by Society of Illustrators, American Illustration, and Creative Quarterly.

Today, I’m approaching my collage practice with a depth I have not previously encountered in my work. In response to the ongoing global climate crisis, I am increasingly mindful of my environmental impact and the sustainability of my creative process. Over the past decade, I have accumulated a collection of paper scraps, magazines, and ephemera, minimizing the need to purchase new collage materials. However, as I occasionally find myself running out of base materials like mixed media paper or bristol board, I’ve been experimenting with the process of handmade paper production as a more sustainable alternative.

This study took a more personal form earlier this year when I found myself with an excess of clothing too worn to donate. Thinking about waste reduction and the spirit of reimagining within collage, I cut up one of my tattered tank tops and threw it in a blender. I created a fibrous pulp which I then transformed into handmade paper that I collaged onto. I continued this process with jeans, socks, underwear – all of which are on view (containing deckled edges) within my portfolio. Minimizing waste while incorporating this craft into my process has ignited an innovative flame within me. The origin of the paper fibers adds an additional layer of narrative to the work, making each piece truly analog and further connecting my practice to a broader environmental consciousness.

Meditating on the origin of the clothing fibers themselves, I trace their roots back to the land. During my time at Hektor, I plan to explore the process of making handmade paper from a variety of plant fibers sourced from the grounds at the farm and the wider Lanzarote landscape. I aim to challenge my own conceptions of what’s possible, transforming dry grasses and leaves into the tangible pages of a story, quite literally regenerating the land into art.

The body of work I create at Hektor will serve as the foundation for an explorative series of what 100% fully sustainable collage can look like. This residency will allow me to reassess the ecological mission behind the collage practice I have developed over the past decade. I will also have the chance to build invaluable relationships with other like-minded artists whose work engages with environmental themes, further enriching my network and creative perspective. In line with Hektor’s values, my aim is to contribute to the ongoing dialogue about sustainability and the connection between art and the environment that Hektor has fostered for years. This time spent on Lazarote will not only broaden and diversify my skill set and portfolio, but it will also enable me to continue exploring this exciting new direction in my work.

Sonia is a Still Life Artist with a keen eye for detail and a talent for the idiosyncratic. 

She has become well known for creating iconic imagery questioning the viewer to reassess the pictures placed before them.

Her Harm Less series, a selection of weapons created from plant life has been widely publicized and became synonymous with the hopeful ideology of a world without violence.

Differentiating her work from the wider market is an innate intellectual element ingrained in her creations. Via a depth of thought intrinsic to the compositions or simply the skill involved in the crafting of the objects the imagery is recognizable as distinctly hers.

Her work encompasses all forms of materials and objects forged with an attention to detail often minute.

Crossing the borders between both art and industry her imagery is highly sort as collectable items but also commissioned by corporate entities to create pictorial narratives that encapsulate the intrinsic nature of a brand or idea.

With a background stemming from a degree in Industrial Design, Sonia’s work has a foundation in both design and engineering. She is a qualified welder, founder and model maker.  Post her studies she spent 10 years designing large scale environments for Fashion Festival Runways, luxury interiors for events and retail, along with smaller lifestyle products for the mass market including tap ware, lighting, home wares and fixtures. She then moved into film, designing sets before assisting German Artist, Sarah Illenberger in Berlin. On returning to Australia she forged a unique path of her own building a portfolio that has garnered her worldwide attention before relocating to New York where her clients have included Hermes, Lanvin, Loewe, MoMA, Ikea, The New Yorker, Tiffany, Nike and The Wall Street Journal.

In a clear moment of united world confusion – how do we ground ourselves?

Where do we go to seek solace, how do we make statements without raising our voices?

I believe strength and unity comes from the small things - the conversation you have with a stranger while walking your dog, the fruit and vegetables you grow and share with a neighbour.

In my art practice and my daily life, I seek for beauty where classically speaking others may not see it, I paint pictures formed of found things and narrated by light. I speak in a visual language.

The Irish philosopher John O’Donohue says we often make the mistake of equating time with space, but time is unshaped – that the imagination we bring to the new dawn will surprise and bless us with new things.

My time in Lanzarote will be spent building connections, with locals, with the land, and with found materials. From these I aim to build a collection of work that speaks of place and time – simple reminders of being good, of being kind, of growth - a statement painted without words, built from the gifts of an island.

A multidisciplinary artist, Christophe eagerly embraces life with his quick and vibrant strokes. These sketches dance in notebooks that, as they pile up over the years, form a leaning tower.

From these sketches are born engravings, monotypes, ceramics, paintings, sculptures, photographs, pieces of solid wood... An insatiable explorer of materials, he shapes them with the supple and uninhibited gesture of someone discovering them. And his sketches come to life, like his delicate ink lines. A serial score where each motif is unique.

Each exploration is a chapter written in the flow of material and gesture, a palpable tension between the childlike joy of breaking new ground and the inner demands of the adult. The choreography of letting go is a tumultuous, joyful, and painful tango. This quest falls in love with obsolete techniques like Sèvres porcelain, metalworking, pyrography, and basketry.

His latest creations explore wood in a tightrope walk between furniture and art sculpture. Always, the original sketch appears as a watermark. It inspires the curves and rhythms, the sensuality, the modeling. Then are born forms that are just right, surprising, intriguing, sometimes burlesque, but of undeniable beauty. A mystique that recalls the trembling universes of Cocteau's Beauty and the Beast, where poetry vies with function.

Beyond any label, there is in Christophe and his works a Don Quixote-like flourish, a dream of freedom escaped from a childhood woven with conventions, an incredulous hold-up where yet the truth is revealed. In this kingdom, nothing is usurped. It is a lesson repeated where always, he awakens amazed. For our greatest delight...

I would like to take advantage of this residence to work mainly on drawing (ink, pastel, charcoal, colors).And develop work initiated in recent years on the “botanical imagination”. Having already had a short stay in Lanzarote, I saw that in the face of the mineral environment the flora developed treasures of inspiration.

My project explores the fusion of physical and digital elements to create a multimedia experience. I will incorporate textile components alongside 3D and mixed reality technologies, drawing inspiration from Lanzarote's unique landscapes, structures, and natural features to develop a dynamic work that bridges the digital and physical worlds.

Julian Bender (born 1989 in Mainz) is a communication designer and creative, based in Mannheim, Germany. He moved to the city in 2009 to study Communication Design and has been living and working there ever since – with a brief but inspiring stint at Zoo Magazine in Amsterdam in 2012. He loves textures, shapes, colors, bass, good melodies and beautifully crafted objects. Above all, he is passionate about creating spaces for connection, shared experiences, and ideas.

In 2015, Julian founded Granada Hills (The Studio), where he collaborates with a range of clients from the cultural sector – mostly art, music and theatre. Especially noteworthy is his long-term collaboration with GNYP Gallery Berlin/Antwerp, bringing several projects and artist books to life. He occasionally dives into free projects – like teaming up with Stockholm-based The Ninevites for a series of custom handwoven rugs or small exhibitions such as “Wheel of Emotion” with Thomas Wolf at Büro Brutal in 2022. 

Outside the studio, Julian co-runs KIOSK, a neighborhood café and bar that doubles as a cozy event space for concerts and gatherings. He’s also active in the electronic music scene as a DJ and promoter. For years, he’s been hosting the club night PALS, shining a spotlight on house music and queer DJs and producers. You’ll find him behind the decks at Disco Zwei, where he holds a residency at one of Mannheim’s most iconic clubs.

Check on Instagram, more Instagram and soundcloud.

Rug collab with The Inevitables

Having worked as a graphic designer in London for over 13 years I started to feel the artist in me drift away with budgets and deadlines. I decided to take myself away, to meander and go back to the undergraduate fine artist who wasn’t scared to make bad marks and to create work that conveyed her inner landscape. This was a period of incubation, of realising my occupation with the spaces around us and how we fold into them.

My work reacts to both inner and outer landscapes. Investigating external surroundings and how they can act as an anchor in defining our place in the world, whilst being an agent of internal change. Landscape acts as a translator, teaching us to look and really see, to gain knowledge. A reminder of who is really in charge, that there are bigger things at work than the individual. This has always been reassuring to me and I've been trying to capture this experience from an internal & external perspective, at micro & micro levels.

Working often from visual memory to capture the lingering memory of a flash of colour, a scattering of light. My goal is to investigate diverse environments, to map their impressions, how they touch people’s lives and how people adapt and define themselves through the lens of the land they find themselves in. Hektor & Lanzarote offer a unique story in the experience of living with arid, volcanic land, which I’m captivated to explore. 

JADE MIKELL (b. 1996) is a disabled artist and activist working within institutional critique. She lives on unceded Lək̓ʷəŋən land by way of unceded Taystayič. She earned her BFA with Distinction from the University of Victoria in 2023.

Mikell investigates inheritance, labour, hierarchy, identity, community, social currency and sustainability. She cites her lived-experiences in an Anthroposophic community and undergoing ABA therapy to identify, upend and communicate the demoralising and endangering effects of institutional inaccessibility. Mikell inspects the moral inadequacy assigned to disability in these environments through repurposing associated semiotics, often posited to have curative effect.

Mikell’s work has been exhibited in solo and group shows nationally and has been acquired by collectors internationally. Her art and activism work has been published in artist features and articles, she has been interviewed by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation andshe has lectured with the Esquimalt Art Gallery.

During my Hektor residency, I would endeavour to learn intimately from the land I would be fortunate enough to visit, which would culminate in creating a small collection of paintings for exhibition or presentation. As a disabled artist and activist whose practice reflects disabled lived experience, these works would intend to articulate the unique capacity in which my disabled body interacted with Lanzarote’s ecosystem. The goal of my residency would be not only the completion of interconnected paintings that reflect upon how vital it is for disabled people to exist autonomously with the land, but also to conclude the experience with a greater understanding of the biosphere that held and welcomed me during that time.

In my practice I locate supplies entirely from sources that interrupt the sequence of consumption and disposal, emphasising upcycled, salvaged, and repurposed materials. This core focus of my process enables me to reflect on how accessibility and sustainability often conflict and inquiries how we might practise conservation while prioritising inclusivity. It would be a tremendous honour to attend a Hektor residency.

After studying theology, architecture and free graphics, Bert De Geyter (°1984) obtained his master's degree in visual arts. He founded the cultural platform TUMULT.FM and the creative enterprise Studio SOSO with illustrator Eva Mouton. 

Language, archetypes and the universal power of loss are very important in De Geyter's work. Art is communication and words and images are woven into his work. Bert knows from experience how comforting, healing, relativizing and empowering art can be and with intellectual pleasure manages to elevate the personal into a universal and spiritual whole with a particular interest in creating rituals. Uncovering the undercurrents that connect us. 

In addition to works on paper and canvas, his oeuvre includes sculptures, installations, sketchbooks and text works in public spaces.  Large installations made of black impregnated wood are astutely interwoven with impressive canvases in space. Letters and abstract forms play with black, white and light. Language and structure take the space in layers. Playing is important to De Geyter and not optional. "It is playing with the children in me, well on a very deep level, but it is and remains playing," the artist jokes. That joy of play is legible in each individual piece and comes together in a powerful whole where sculpture, space and line provoke an instinctive experience. 

It is in the overall experience and in what you don't see but feel, that the intensity and warmth of his 'terribly joyful' work reveals itself. It is there that infinite new beginnings emerge like a memory still in its infancy. Like a perpetual mobile of hope.'

I’m a self-taught textile artist with a degree in German literature and experience working in translation as well as in journalism before moving into art.

Growing up in a country far far away from actual important happenings of the art world and watching it from the outside is the reason my practice exists the way it is. No formal art education means no rules to follow, no guidance, no taboos to avoid. Instead of it being an insecurity, I choose to make it my strength.

I grew up on a mix of television, movies, comics, video games, literature; and that built my sensibility. My carpets, handmade in wool, and exploring pop culture in general as well as dreams and visions, strike by the tension between their often apparent comical motifs and the actual hard, patient work that is needed to produce them. The nostalgia and feeling of comfort that these carpets evoke, as well as the tactile aspect of them in connection with the slight eeriness of what they portray is a constant source of inspiration for my works.

With Laufer Gallery from Zürich, I have participated in Bienvenue ArtFair in Paris, had a solo show in Zürich, and a solo in Belgrade, Serbia.

Recent shows include: group show at Galerie Fran Reus in Palma, Mallorca; online show at The Curators, Paris/NY; group show at BIEN Textile Art Biennale in Kranj, Slovenia.

In my artistic journey, I've embraced the freedom that comes with self-discovery and experimentation, liberated from the constraints of formal art education. Instead of viewing this as a barrier, I'm continuously working on making it my greatest asset, allowing it to shape my creative process.

At the core of my exploration lies nostalgia—an intricate theme where memory intertwines with comfort and discomfort. Through my work, I want to evoke a sense of longing, drawing upon symbols of innocence and whimsy juxtaposed with hints of the grotesque. This juxtaposition serves as a gateway into the complexities of human experience.

Exploring the intersections of pop culture, dreams, and visions, my carpets become portals to alternate worlds—familiar yet surreal. They evoke nostalgia and comfort while hinting at an underlying eeriness beneath the surface.

Carpets are great canvases for nostalgia. Through my work, they also provoke thought, stir emotions, and ignite curiosity. Each piece is supposed to be a testament to the many possibilities that emerge when one embraces the freedom to create without following the rules of the medium.

I’d like to dedicate my time at the residency to the creation of a unique tufted artwork, drawing inspiration from the island’s volcanic landscape and colors. 

I aim to establish a collaborative environment by setting up a tufting frame accessible to fellow artists, staff, and casual passersby. This participatory project invites contributors to add their touch to the evolving tapestry by filling out a part of the artwork I’m working on. Or they can just watch me work and have a conversation. 

This way, everyone comes in contact with the wool and the process, one of the most intricate parts of creating textile art. Decisions made by other people will have an effect not only on the final artwork but on my decision-making as well. 

The goal is to complete a collective tapestry by the residency’s conclusion, leaving a tangible legacy of shared creativity and new acquaintances introduced to the art of tufting.

Dase is a Spanish vegan artist and muralist. He has been painting works for more than 15 years under the motto "Paint a better planet", recognized for his identity and social work. His works have been exhibited in Barcelona, ​​Madrid, Miami and New York, among other national and international cities. international.

He started painting graffiti in 2006 in Mollet del Vallés, Barcelona. A year later he begins to sign as “Dase”.

In 2009 he perfected the spray technique and was invited to participate in international exhibitions, where he combined graffiti and hyperrealism. He has a premonition of the influential power of urban art and loads his works with protest messages.

In 2011 he began the Degree in Graphic Design at ESDi, Sabadell, and co-stars in the documentary “Burn Your Mind”.

In 2013 Dase painted at 5 pointz, New York's graffiti mecca, and culminated his career with the redesign of the university's Visual Identity. At this stage he was inspired by the minimalism of the Bauhaus and the artivism of Banksy.

In 2016 he joins Greenpeace to paint a sustainable mural to demand protection of the Arctic.

In 2017 he held his first solo exhibition “Binomio: create or destroy” and painted murals in Wynwood during Miami Art Week.

As of 2021, Dase's work is visually and conceptually recognizable: It is “Vegan Artivism”.

To date, he has worked for brands such as Google, Coca-Cola, Nike, Amazon, Armani, Dolce & Gabbana, Le Coq Sportif, UDON, Flax & Kale, Beefeater, Fenty Skin, Ray-Ban, among others, and NGOs. like Greenpeace or Ricky Rubio Foundation.

His true purpose as a vegan artist is to contribute to the world through art. All of his works focus his message on respect for animals and care for the environment.

His illustrations question the superiority of humanity over other species and the planet. They express a vision that can generate cognitive dissonance for those who contemplate the works. And art can be transformative.

Tanja Haramincic is a Croatian ceramic artist and architect based in Milan, Italy. After an eight-year career in architecture and interior design, she founded her ceramics brand, Claytical Ceramics, in 2021 with the aim of engaging in more sustainable and slow production practices, focusing on creating meaningful work with a smaller environmental impact.

In her ceramic practice, she continuously explores various techniques and production processes, with a particular emphasis on waste and circularity within the ceramic industry. Her research predominantly revolves around repurposing fired and glazed ceramic waste, restoring discarded materials by incorporating them into new artistic and functional pieces.

Ceramics and geology are deeply intertwined, illustrating how humans connect artifacts to the natural world. The processes of rock formation—heating, cooling, pressure, and chemical reactions—are mirrored in ceramics through the firing of clay and minerals in a controlled kiln. Geological layers reveal Earth's history and past climates, while ceramics provide tangible connections to human history and serve as archaeological evidence of past cultures. What will contemporary ceramics say about our current society?

During the residency, I will explore the island's natural geological resources and study the use of naturally found minerals in modeling new ceramic pieces and glazes. By using materials that require minimal transportation and processing on one of the Canary Islands' most intact landscapes, the art and craft-making process becomes localized and intimately connected to the island's unique environment, offering a sustainable alternative to the globalized approach prevalent in the ceramic industry.

Shaun Fraser is a sculptor and visual artist based between Scotland and London. Shaun is a graduate of the Royal College of Art and Edinburgh College of Art. He has been featured in exhibits internationally and has received several awards for his work.

As ‘place’ is central to my practice, my discovery of Lanzarote as a locality will play a significant role in the eventual realised output from my time on the island. I relish the prospect of developing a new body of work whilst immersed in this active landscape. I regard this as an ideal location in which to consider how the deep past is recorded, remembered and reconstructed as new landforms construct and reconstruct. I am interested in questions of permanence and instability in the reproduction of form and how meaning is forged, destabilised and reimagined in different contexts and moments.

The resulting body of work which will manifest from my time at Hektor will reflect this curiosity. These works will be undertaken with paint, pigment, ink and natural inclusions on paper and board. 

For Zeno, a good design finds balance between aesthetic purity, a well-defined function and a colourful twist. A versatile interest in materials and production techniques are the foundation of his design language.

Zeno started his design practices in Copenhagen in 2013, and is currently working from Brussels.  With over 8 years of experience as head of design for an established Belgian furniture brand, Zeno has been collaborating with internationally renowned architects on some major projects. In addition to this high-pace environment, Zeno also finds creative joy and accomplishment in more intuitive and hands-on creation.

The Lanzarote residence fits this urge to slow down, reconnect and create from a place of groundedness in the here and now.

My name is Salomée Souag, I’m a muralist, designer and creative from Switzerland who holds my Peruvian and Algerian ancestors closer to my heart, my community and my work. I immigrated from Switzerland 14 years ago with my family for a chance at a better life. This experience sculpted the individual I am today. Color and forms became my only language which began my path towards art and design. I currently lives in Portland & pride myself in my queer multi-cultural identity and encourage others to step outside of the box society has created for me. 

Paco is a Brooklyn-based artist and illustrator who began playing around with digital drawing while living for a decade in Santiago de Chile. What started out of experimentation soon became a new artistic challenge; the ease offered in the digital format was undercut by the limited nature of a screen and a fingertip to draw. It soon became his medium of choice.

His work responds to the visual culture he is surrounded by with an eye for exaggeration and distortion. Pop culture, drag queens, lights, textures… everything makes its way in. He enlarges, subtracts, and riffs on recognizable forms, hoping to communicate a sense of wonder and excitement about the way plastic and stylized references can come alive with more expressionistic and intuitive rendering. 

At Hektor, I hope to explore different methods of bringing my digital drawings into the physical world. I began drawing on a tablet out of necessity and convenience. Quickly, I became enamored with the process and the counterintuitive way the digital medium allowed me to be more expressive and gestural. 

Recently, I’ve been experimenting with rendering texture and tactile quality in my work; hard, squishy, prickly, metallic. I can’t wait to keep exploring while surrounded by a lush and diverse landscape like Lanzarote. I want to see how far I can push myself away from the convenience and immediacy of digital drawing. I’m also interested in the way my technique will have evolved after so many years rendering with my finger as opposed to a pencil or brush. 

 In many ways, I feel like the visceral quality of creating the line by smearing my finger across the screen is more personal than when I’m separated by an instrument. I want to explore all of the spaces between the digital and the physical with the goal of creating a visual language and narrative about that tension as I live it on the island.

Carmelo Plumari, born in Catania, is a street photographer and visionary creative director entrenched in the realm of fashion. His unique visual narrative is dedicated to uncovering beauty in its myriad forms, blending the raw essence of reportage photography with the refined aesthetics of high fashion. Infused with dynamism, his work exudes a palpable energy, underpinned by a meticulous and at times obsessive quest for perfect composition. Often capturing subjects against picturesque beach backdrops and employing film photography techniques, Carmelo’s portfolio radiates an enduring charm. 

Bart Spitaels (°1987, Mechelen) graduated in 2012 as a Master in the Arts at LUCA School of Arts.

He draws, makes installations and (wall) paintings in which architectural elements blossom. Throughout his oeuvre, Spitaels thinks up outlandish constructions that look like they were built from the remnants of a late-capitalist ruin. With just the right amount of graphic lines and meticulously measured swatches of colour, he conjures his own wayward world—one that shelters, shushes and prompts pensive moments

(text: Rufus Gallery)

I tend to have no clear idea of what I'm painting, but human forms continually emerge, abstractions of an embrace.

Sam was born in Ghent, Belgium in 1985 and grew up in Umbria, Italy. He currently lives and works in Ghent and from his suitcase.

He is known for his large-scale muralisms across the globe, as a first means to make his art known to the world, but chose for a career in painting as a means to attain absolute freedom and to save himself from sheer madness.

Lately, his work made a leap from figurative to abstract, as figurative proved to be adding to the noise already present in the world

More than looking for singular technical shots, Herlinde works to develop her own language of seeing. She doesn’t view things as fixed or finished but seeks ongoing (personal) development.

Like catching just one frame in a movie, it is hard to single out Herlinde’s images. She tries to capture life as it goes by, so the outcome is often stills, rather than poses. Her photo series can be seen as little films, not a singular moment in time but a part of the larger flow. 

With her work, Herlinde motivates people to take time and trigger deeper insights. Her images feel timeless at first glance but share a snapshot view of the present.

Herlinde is the art director and co-founder of Different Class (formerly Subbacultcha Belgium). Different Class is an independent membership promoting emerging artists and supporting audiences through a curated agenda and editorials.

(c) profile picture: Lars Duchateau

When the feelings grab me and the whirlwind of emotions strike me, I gotta draw and I love what I draw.

" I was not born for one corner; the whole world is my native land." by Lucius Annaeus Seneca was what I read when little and imprinted in my memory till now. I was used to be a visual effect artist for 10 years, but I have loved art since little. The passion to paint never fades out and the desire is getting stronger than ever during the Covid. Therefore, I decided to take the road not taken. As an emerging and self-taught artist, I’d like to explore more of my creative approaches and expand my source of inspiration through travel and artist residencies programs. I believe this cultural exchange experience with others and the local community will greatly enrich my art journey and further develop my future independent project.

Oftentimes, I'm drawn and moved based on the change of environment. Mental and physical states could be rejuvenated quickly and infuse me. I used charcoal, colour pencil, and oil pastels to draw and paint. I am influenced and inspired by Impressionist artists who offered a different way of seeing and developed new techniques back then. Themes I'm intrigued by could range from mundane day to day life, people I meet, nature I am touched or emotions like depression or anger. Encounters with another culture and meeting various artists are what I’m craving for, and always trigger me to create more with fresh perspectives and stories. It's vital as my source of inspiration to begin my ongoing project.

I intend to create a virtual museum encompassing all my artworks. It invites audiences from all over the world without geographical barriers and time-zone differences to join. It allows viewers to immerse themself and enjoy artworks in a non-conventional space. I would like viewers to resonate with my paintings inspired by countries I stayed and allow them to experience an inner adventure in this virtual museum. It's the artistic vision I'd like to realize eventually and till then I need to propel myself through artistic residency to collide and create more works.

Ruby Rare (she/they) is an award-winning sex and relationships expert. Through her writing, public speaking, and presenting, she’s on a mission to get people talking more confidently and inclusively about all the topics we were taught to feel shame about. They’re a proud ambassador for Brook, the UK’s leading sexual health charity, author of  Sex Ed: A Guide for Adults, and host of the podcast docu-series In Touch, which explores the ways we connect to sex, relationships, and our bodies with nuance and curiosity. Ruby is currently working on her second book, The Non-Monogamy Playbook (title tbc). 

She’s been featured in the Guardian, the Independent, and Huffington Post, to name a few, and has spoken at TedXLondon, Women of the World Festival,and on BBC Woman's Hour. She’s listed as one of 24 figures making a positive change to social media in Cosmopolitan's Positivity Index, and is on The DIVA Power List, which celebrates queer trailblazers changing the game for LGBTQ+ representation.

Luisa Porta, an Italian native born in Turin in 1964, is a renowned photographer specializing in architecture and interior design. Her fascination with contemporary art naturally led her to collaborate with art galleries and capture the artistic endeavors of various artists.

Her work has been featured in prestigious magazines within her field, including The Plan, Elle Decor, AD, Artribune, Living, Lampoon, and Nova Express.

Simultaneously, Luisa pursued personal projects that deeply resonated with her, often in collaboration with fellow photographer Daniele Ratti. One notable undertaking was the documentation of Oscar Niemeyer's architectural marvels.

Another compelling project revolved around Rachid Karami's International Fair, constructed in 1960 in Tripoli, Lebanon. While the project remained unfinished, Luisa Porta curated an exhibition and authored a book dedicated to this remarkable structure.

In her hometown of Turin, Luisa documented the Burgo paper mill, which was established in 1981 and serves as the company's administrative hub.

Her lens also ventured into the world of Sicilian Rationalism. She embarked on a research journey, meticulously capturing the abandoned state of rationalist villages constructed during the fascist era between 1937 and 1940. This insightful project found its way into publications such as Tiroir and Suq magazine.

Luisa Porta's passion for architecture extended to Eritrea, where she delved into the modernist architectural gems built in the 1930s during Italy's colonial rule under the fascist regime.

In the past two years, she expanded her creative horizons by venturing into the realm of cinema. Here, she assumed the role of a set photographer, contributing her artistic touch to various film productions.

Several years ago I visited Lanzarote for the first time, since then I have been completely mesmerized by this land, both in my role as a photographer and on a personal level.

This island possesses a well-defined intrinsic identity that gives it a unique character. The volcanic landscape, the simple architecture blend harmoniously with the location's nature, and the deep-rooted local traditions all contribute to the creation of an extraordinary atmosphere; impossible to find or replicate anywhere else. 

Furthermore, the indescribable warmth and hospitality the people of Lanzarote have shown me in my past visits and their dedication to preserving the local culture help shape the island's one-of-a-kind identity.

Lanzarote is considered an island with a fragile ecosystem. Its volcanic geology and arid climate have led to the creation of very specific environmental conditions, which require attentive care to ensure the island's natural balance is maintained.

Lanzarote's linear architecture evokes a deep emotional connection and a sense of belonging to the surrounding environment. The buildings seamlessly integrate into the volcanic landscape, using simple forms, local materials, and neutral colors. It is precisely this harmony between architecture and the natural environment, this sense of balance and continuity, this embracing of the surrounding nature rather than contrasting it, which deeply impressed and fascinated me.

Throughout my work in Lanzarote, I would like to reproduce this harmony by playing with the use of light, choice of perspective, composition, architectural and natural details, perspective and depth. 

It will be an ongoing project where the beautiful Lanzarote will guide me in making specific photographic choices regarding what and how to capture and reproduce strong sensations and emotions.

My final product would then be reproduced on a book created in collaboration with 'Paint it Black', a specialized publishing house in art focused on releasing magazines and books covering various sectors of the art world. They would assist me in translating visual and emotional sensations collected during the creative process. The book will be related by an art curator that will write for me the critical test. I believe their values will be aligned with mine and Hector’s. 

Oli Park (they/them) is a queer and non-binary artist, recipe developer and creative director based in Berlin, Germany. Born in New York, and raised by a chef and a cook specializing in Japanese and Korean cuisine, they were immersed in the crossroads of food and fashion. Formerly, they were part of Studio Human Beings, a duo creating work surrounding footwear/fashion, ecology and aroma with themes always surrounding food. Read about their past work on MOLD Magazine. In the US, SHB hosted intimate in real life as well as digital food-related experiences in their local community of friends as well as for galleries and brands. 

After moving to Berlin in 2021, Oli continued to expand their interest in food-related topics such as ceramics and wine. In 2023, they attended the School of Natural Wine in El Tiemblo, Spain, where they were introduced to the natural wine making processes from harvesting, crushing, fermentation, maceration, and bottling. During their on-field experience, they were also introduced to pedology (the study of soil), which opened up doors to critically consider sustainability and ecology in their work. Today, Oli continues to host intimate community dinner experiences in their flat in Kreuzberg and plans to expand into cafes and restaurants as well as social media. 

About the Project

Currently, by profession, they work as a creative director at Highsnobiety. Their immersion into the food and wine research and exploration happens outside of their day job, making art residencies like Hektor invaluable. During the residency, they plan to present a collection of 5 – 10 food explorations to help people who want to cook more at home be inspired and encouraged to compose dishes. Through harvesting, fermentation, preservation, and exploration, they hope to compose different tastes and textures. Oli will also create a series of sketches, paintings, and drawings to accompany.