For many years Ziarah kept pretty quiet, hoping things would change without her intervening. She painted Speak Up because she felt the need to say something in her own way, for the black community, for a world without racism. 

Besides paintings Ziarah also collaborates with her sister Tisja, creating another dimension by blending photography & painting in the form of intriguing collages. 

This exposition is all about speaking up, sharing stories and creating an immersive experience. For this exposition 2 bespoke tracks have been created by Rik van Leeuwen & Laurens de Kramer better known as Soundhouse Amsterdam.

LAASSO in collaboration with Amsterdam based photographer, Angela Huizer, photographed and interviewed the beautiful Sisters Janssen, Tisja and Ziarah and their mother Helen. We discussed what sisterhood means to them, what they stand for in the fashion industry and where they find their inspiration. Tisja and Ziarah are Sisters Janssen. Born in Curaçao and living in Amsterdam, they are sisters and artists.

Read the complete interview on Laasso.

Instagram @laasso

What do you stand for? What do you want to accomplish as sisters?

We stand for a colourful future and focus on celebrating the beauty of black women and the beauty of all kinds of women. 

What would you like to see change in the fashion industry?

A representation of every kind of woman, in every shape and colour or just being. 

Helen martina

What is the most important life lesson that you want to teach your daughters?

They are such beautiful strong ladies. My goal has always ben for then to be themselves. To be who they are and to stand by what they believe in.

How do you see yourself in your daughter’s artwork?

They make their unique own style. The focus on the strong black woman is something we have in common.

What do you value most in your life?

I think it is very important to stay true to yourself, value your own worth, that will result in being a loving and healthy person, you will value family, people in general, nature.

Ganni:

Meet @sistersjanssen, a platform created and composed by sisters Tisja and Ziarah Janssen to combine their passions to inspire and motivate by visually communicating their beliefs. Sisters Janssen created an exclusive art piece for our GANNI Amsterdam store, along with a short film.

“We created a special painting that represents our sisterhood as two individuals that move like one and feed each other’s souls with love, energy and creativity, and our message; a colorful future.

In addition to the painting, we also created a short film documenting how we work, how we create and our process behind the GANNI Amsterdam art piece.
For us, Amsterdam is the city that feels like home. The creativity, the diversity, the possibilities; an open minded city where a lot of ideas and concepts are being written.”

Our Painting forever being a part of the @ganni Amsterdam store. The frame is created together with our mom Helen Martina 

The sisters Janssen were in the December issue of Voque Nederland.

It’s Amsterdam Fashion Week and we’re joining forces to celebrate emerging Dutch design talent. Together, we’re showcasing 10 design students who reinvented a classic hoodie through the power of self-expression. Here, sisters Tisja and Ziarah Janssen, took inspiration for their designs from the themes of Love.

At GANNI, we stand in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement. As we’ve been researching and educating ourselves, our silence—born out of the fear of saying the wrong thing—has gone on for too long. Today, our company and founders will be donating $100,000 across the below organisations, in support of the fight to end racial injustice.

We know this is not enough—we must continue to listen, research, and educate ourselves about systematic injustice and state sanctioned violence against Black people globally. We have a lot of work to do, but we commit to doing better and commit to continued action. If you are thinking about making a purchase with GANNI this week, we ask you to consider donating to an anti-racism organization instead. Additionally, starting this week and each week moving forward, we will be commissioning work from the Black creative community to share on our platforms.

If you are a Black creator that’s interested in collaborating with GANNI, please DM us. It’s a small start, but the change begins now.

The Sisters were one of the first artist they selected.

Instagram: @ganni