MEET THE TEAM
Meet our Team for the London Design Biennale. These are the individuals making this wonderful project come together, to showcase the wonderful work being done by Kiara Kulisic and the weavers of CHIQA, in Ollantaytambo, Cusco, Peru.
Original Idea and Photographer
Leslie Osterling
Leslie Osterling is a visual artist and photographer; a mother; entrepreneur; and patron of the arts. She studied Fine Arts at Universidad Católica (1991), the Corriente Alterna School of Visual Arts (1998), and photography at Centro de la Imagen (2006). She also pursued studies in Art, Language, and French Culture at La Sorbonne in Paris. Her work has been exhibited both individually and collectively in Lima, Madrid, Miami, South Korea, and London. Most recently, she showcased her work at Photo London as part of the Peruvian photography stand. In 2023, her work was included in the Summer Exhibition at the Royal Academy.
Her artistic practice explores the aesthetic value of art and its role in society, articulated through an activist approach where art serves not as an end in itself, but as a medium for generating actions aimed at social development.
Since 2023, her focus has been on HÆIRLOOM, OLLANTAYTAMBO'S (POST) MODERN WEAVERS, a project exhibited at the Peruvian Embassy in London and now selected for the 2025 London Design Biennale.
Curator and Project Manager
Carlos Caamaño
Carlos Caamaño is a Curator and Cultural Manager. He recently completed a Master's Degree in Media and Culture at Goldsmiths, University of London (2023). He lives and works between Lima and London.
Between 2011 and 2014, he served as the Visual Arts Coordinator at the Alliance Française in Lima. He has curated exhibitions for the British Embassy, the Alliance Française, the Peruvian North American Cultural Institute, the British Cultural Centre, the Museum of Contemporary Art, the Hay Festival, and the Photography Biennial, among others. Internationally, he has been a guest curator at the Deutsche Bank Gallery and the Instituto Cervantes, both in New York City.
Since 2010, he has directed Carlos Caamaño Foto Galería, an independent initiative that brings together a group of renowned photographers. With an active presence at international art fairs, the gallery has exhibited in Buenos Aires, Mexico City, Basel, Berlin, Paris, New York, Barcelona, and London.
Founder of CHIQA
Kiara Kulisic
Kiara is the founder of CHIQA. After working in tech sales, she decided to take the leap and establish this social enterprise, which is now the focal point of the Peruvian Pavilion’s exhibition at the London Design Biennale. Kiara was diagnosed with alopecia during her teenage years—an experience that not only affected her physically, but also took a significant toll on her mental health. The discovery of a natural look, made possible by specially crafted toppers using real hair, had a deeply personal and healing impact on her life. She took a wig-making course in the United States and enlisted consultant Gretchen Evans—who creates bespoke hairpieces for the film industry—to support the training process.
Motivated to address human rights abuses within the hair industry and combat domestic violence against women, Kiara sought a way to support her country by drawing on the Andes’ ancient weaving traditions and the global demand for Peruvian hair, known to be among the most desirable for natural wigs. She partnered with a non-profit organisation working with women weavers, and thus began CHIQA. Her vision is for CHIQA to become a profitable, self-sustaining enterprise that creates meaningful change on multiple levels—for those living with cancer, alopecia, and other forms of hair loss, as well as for the weavers and the individuals who generously donate their hair.
Exhibition Designer
Maya Ballen
Maya Ballén is a Peruvian artist, architect, and educator. Her work has been exhibited at The Invisible Dog Art Center, MATE (Mario Testino Museum), Revolver Galería, Lima Modern Gallery, Galerie Asterisk*, Nuit Blanche Lima, the XX Quito Architecture Biennial (BAQ), the Peruvian British Council Gallery, and the Ibero-American Architecture Biennial, among others. She has also developed site-specific installations and participatory workshops in public spaces.
Maya began her architectural studies at the Universidad de Buenos Aires while attending TAC (Taller de Acciones Creativas), directed by artist Mirtha Dermisache. She later completed her degree in architecture at Universidad Ricardo Palma in Lima, Peru. Over the past two decades, she has cultivated a multidisciplinary practice that integrates art, architecture, and education.
She holds an MFA from the School of Visual Arts in New York and is currently a faculty member in both the art and architecture departments at the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú (PUCP). Maya has also designed exhibitions for institutions such as Proyecto AMIL, the Museo de Arte de Lima (MALI), and the Peruvian pavilion at ARCOmadrid 2019, where Peru was the guest country.
Textile Artist
Carolina Estrada
Carolina Estrada is an artist and researcher who studies matter as culture. An example of such research is how a sensory interface connects people to technology and myths. She reflects on the relationship between technology, culture, and nature to challenge and expand our understanding of ecological systems. Her work crosses a wide range of disciplines, drawing on the humanities, sensory studies, and indigenous knowledge. She worked for two years with traditional artists who are also politically engaged indigenous community leaders, convinced that indigenous knowledge can help us face persistent global and social problems. She experimented using backstrap weaving (a Peruvian textile technique) and handlooms.
Currently, she is expanding her research, seeking the tactile effect as a powerful sensory medium to scale it up using different techniques.
Carolina studied at the National School of Fine Arts, Lima, Perú (2014) and has an MA in Textiles from the Royal College of Art, London, UK (2023). Recent shows include: “Haptic Imagination” solo show, Peruvian British Cultural Center, Lima (2023), “Pallay Pampa: Andean Crossroads”, IFA Gallery Berlin (2022).
Video Artist
Arin Pereira
Arin Pereira is a video artist, photographer and writer specialising in portraiture and documentary. Drawn to the close handiwork of material transformation, her eye is charged with the pursuit of beauty. Arin has degrees in Philosophy and German, and Journalism from Columbia University. Multilingual and multinational, she is based in Mexico.
Arin’s videos have been shown in exhibitions at Design Week Mexico; Centro Andaluz de Arte Contemporáneo (CAAC) in Sevilla, Spain; the Austrian Museum of Applied and Contemporary Arts, in Vienna (MAK, Wien); Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe (MKG, Hamburg); Vorarlberg Museum (Bregenz, Austria); Franz Mayer Museum in Mexico City; and at the National Geographic Storytellers Summit in Washington, DC.
Documentary Filmmaker
Romina Osterling
Romina Osterling (b. Lima, Peru) is a filmmaker, visual artist, and storyteller of the in-between—where tradition rubs against rebellion, and where stories flicker into light. Her work weaves cinema, documentary, and visual poetry, guided by instinct and a love of the unscripted. She holds a degree in Film Practice from London South Bank University, where she specialised in cinematography and developed a quiet, obsessive attention to light, texture, and the feeling between frames.
Her 2023 documentary, "Some Hairs Never Fall", was shot over five whirlwind days. It follows seven Andean women as they cut and transform their own hair into handmade wigs, in defiance of cultural norms and patriarchal expectations. The film won Best Long-Form Documentary at the Royal Television Society Student Awards and was longlisted for a BAFTA.
Romina’s practice is grounded in care, craft, and curiosity. Whether she’s working on a documentary, sculpting ceramics for nine straight hours, or building a thrift-concept store with her cousin, her art is always an offering: a small altar to tenderness, resistance, and beauty in the everyday.
She lives and works between Lima and London, always chasing stories that don’t yet have a voice—and the mystery of what’s to come.
Marketing Lead
Alexandra Arens
Alex Arens is a Strategic Marketer with over two decades working with Ultra High Net Worth individuals and prestigious brands across the UK and worldwide. A native of Lima, Peru, she obtained her Bachelor's degree at Georgetown University in Washington, DC. Alex began her career in Private Wealth Management and Finance at UBS AG in New York before pivoting to Strategic Marketing and CRM earning an MBA with a specialisation in Luxury Business Management from SDA Bocconi in Milan, Italy.
Her trajectory includes senior marketing positions at Bulgari in New York, Giorgio Armani, and Trotters Childrenswear in London. Alex’s expertise encompasses Marketing Strategy (both Physical and Digital), Social Media Planning, E-commerce, Customer Experience, Omnichannel Integration, and 360 Campaign Execution. She is currently dedicated to independent Marketing Strategy Projects.
Alex's personal passions lie with bridging the gender gap, sustainability, and driving awareness to women's issues.
Audiovisual Coordinator
Rio Venetico
Rio Venetico is an audio-visual artist, filmmaker, and technician based in London. Their work centres on sensory experiences through storytelling, aiming to create entire worlds for an audience from almost nothing. With a background in music production and filmmaking, they collaborate with artists across digital media and live installations, contributing spatial sound design and film projection.
Rio’s sole aim is to make a room—and the art displayed within it—come alive. They are continually re-inspired by the practices of documentary film and are driven by the desire to breathe new life into reality. Rio explores how recontextualising work within a space can create new meaning and invite deeper engagement. They now teach film workshops and lead project tutorials for students at London South Bank University, where they themselves previously studied for a BA in Film Practice.
Speaker and Founder of Human Material Loop
Zsofia Kollar
Zsofia is a forward-thinking entrepreneur and material innovator reshaping how we understand waste, value, and our place within the ecosystem. As the founder and CEO of Human Material Loop, she leads a textile innovation company transforming human hair waste into high-performance, circular materials—proving that sustainability and economic growth can not only coexist but co-evolve.
With degrees in architecture, design, and interdisciplinary design, Zsofia’s background blends scientific inquiry with conceptual thinking. Her work bridges design, science, ethics, and sustainability, fostering systemic change and reshaping industry standards. After years of leading her independent design studio—working with organizations like the Dutch Ministry of Education and Amsterdam Royal Zoo—she turned her focus toward circular material development, driven by a desire to reimagine waste management.
Human Material Loop is the embodiment of this mission. The company challenges the idea of waste by reframing discarded hair as a renewable, functional, and meaningful resource. Together with a team of designers, scientists, and engineers, Zsofia is scaling a technology with the potential to drastically reduce the textile industry’s environmental impact.
With the support of:
Fundraising Coordinator
Carolina Llosa
The Embassy of Peru in the United Kingdom
Jose Antonio Osterling
Ursula Bernard
Caroline Briceño
Cecilia Caamaño
Walter Martínez