Short Bio

Short Biography

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Zeichnung_Tanja_von_Sebastian

  • born 1970 in Elmshorn, near Hamburg, Germany
  • after graduation, apprenticeship in publishing house administration
  • study year with the international educational programm “Up with people” studying cultural exchange, social projects, public relations and music performance (more than 120 shows as singer /dancer in the USA, Canada, Norway, Finland & Sweden
  • studied political science and sociology at Hamburg University
  • 14 years work at DER SPIEGEL, last 6 years there of as project manager
  • 2014 started freelance work as sculptural costume artist

 

Tanja Schulz-Hess, 45, lives in Hamburg and Venice. She is the four time winner of the international prize “Best costume of the Carnival of Venice, Italy” (2007, 2008, 2009 & 2015).

 

After 14 years working at the annual chronical of the acclaimed political magazine “DER SPIEGEL” she traded her regular job for a freelance artist fulltime job to follow her very successful and prize awarded passion of 16 years of sculptural costume making for the Venetian carnival and its presentation in exhibitions world wide.

 

Her wig sculptures are currently being sold by well-known ateliers in Venice and her costumes are frequently requested to be shown in fairs and exhibitions across Europe as well as TV. Future projects with traditional costume ateliers, a book about the carnival and her creations, exhibitions, an online shop and workshops are in progress.

 

Tanja Schulz-Hess calls herself a costume sculpturist since she has no skills in tailoring, instead she composes and glues all her art work dresses, wigs and accessories with a hot glue gun.

 

Her very specific, extravagant style puts an emphasis on the history of Venice and its carnival, as well as artistic interpretation of themes with current relevance (such as the “No grandi navi”-movement, which she built into an 18th century galadress with a Titanic-theme and an 80cm ship in her wig). Her creations are a fusion of the past, the present and the future to “Contemporary Costume Art”.