Photography — evilspiritworld

Becoming and Belonging
Duo exhibition curated by Patta (2024)

Patta 20 year anniversary costum airbrush design

Patta 20 year anniversary party

“The exhibition Becoming and Belonging celebrates twenty years of friendship and community, brought together under the brand Patta. Founded by Guillaume ‘Gee’ Schmidt and Edson Sabajo, the label emerged in the inner city of Amsterdam in the 1990s, from the energy of the local hip-hop scene. The exhibition reflects on this community that formed the basis for Patta, and shows the time before the brand was founded, when friends would gather in cafés and at parties such as Chocolate and Bassline. It looks back on the Amsterdam hip-hop scene as a place where creativity in music, art and fashion was central.

Patta grew from selling sneakers to a globally known streetwear brand with a team of around 70 people and stores in London, Milan and Lagos. They also launched the Patta Foundation and Patta Academy to support young people with cultural education. Juanita Mendicuti Ortega, a talented alumna of the Academy, presents her work in this.

Becoming and Belonging is also a reflection on joy, friendship, heritage and the future, and on ways to move from the margins of society to the centre of our cities.

BELONGING
Juanita Mendicuti Ortega (Rotterdam, 2001), an alumna of the Patta Academy, presents BELONGING, a selection from her project ‘WHISPERS OF BELONGING’. Her work explores identity, heritage and human connections and invites the viewer to discover the rich Mexican identity, interwoven with diversity and resilience. The project creates a dialogue between two generations of photographers who try to capture the complex beauty of human identity.”