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

French artist based in London, Camille Walala’s work consists of deploying on all kinds of surfaces, from the smallest to the largest scale, compositions inspired by Ndebele art, Op art, Memphis or even Auguste Herbin, in a free circulation of references and influences. This is about affirming a cultural mix but also about reconnecting with the ambition of historical abstractions: overcoming the boundaries between visual arts and applied arts, dissolving the boundaries between art and life in order to enrich and improve our experience of everyday life. Also, urban and public spaces have until now been at the center of her approach, with to date numerous collaborations for public structures and events, but also urban developments, notably in London, Shanghai, Buenos Aires. , Cleveland, New York or even Kenya.

Over the past ten years, my work has been inspired by every day life and it’s surrounding, which until now was very based on details that I can see in cities, details of buildings structures and textures. I have developed a lexicon of shapes and colours that I would like to enrich with new influences: those of the of the island of Lanzarote with its atypical landscapes, colours and textures, the whites, the blues, the ochres, the openness of the horizon and also, by the architecture of César Manrique  and his more organic shapes that I have admired for many years. 

I am really looking forward to be in residence at Hektor as I know it will allow me to benefit from the research time necessary for my work to renew my inspiration. Having long weeks ahead of me, free of constraints, would be an opportunity to free myself from certain automatisms and mechanisms, and to give free reign to more gestures and movement - most often contained until now in geometric lines which today tend to become more flexible, like the rounded edges of César Manrique forms.

I would love in the first few days to explore the island, visit Cesar Enrique architectural sites and also immerse myself in the landscapes, doing quick sketches during walks and working on some graphic textures that I will document with photography first.

The second week I will produce large instinctive drawings from the research of the previous week.

For the rest of my stay I would love to produce paintings in colours and collages on large loose canvas reflecting the feelings and freedom I will have experienced on the island, and hopefully letting go of my pre conceptual way of working.

Coming to Lanzarote has been a dream of mine for a long time. I am so grateful to Hektor for their opportunity to do an art residency in October 2025.

I also feel very inspired by the beautiful Residency at Hektor, I feel like staying for a few weeks in a relaxing and beautiful setting, connected to nature that will bring some unexpected discovery in my art practice. I can't wait for that!

Cynthia Chou is an interdisciplinary artist exploring the nature of memory, ecology, and decay. Her research investigates a wide range of use cases for algae-based biomaterials, treating them as both textile and canvas.