The Weekend With Julia Schimautz

“Living in Berlin means there are always exciting things happening. One exhibition I’d recommend right now is The Message According to Sansonvino: weaving resilience by Edward L. Buchanan at Semjon Contemporary. I’m drawn to work that moves between disciplines, and this show combines fashion, textiles and contemporary art in a really exciting way. Then from 26-28 June there is, of course, Miss Read – Berlin’s art book fair. I look forward to it every year, it’s one of those spaces where you end up in conversation with someone whose work you’ve admired and followed for a long time.”

“I’m obsessed with my collection of Japanese magazines, specifically Graphic Design (グラフィックデザイン) from the 1950s-70s. Every time I page through them, something different surfaces – a layout, a detail, a colour choice I’d flipped past a hundred times before. It’s always connected to whatever I’m interested in or working on at the time.

I also return to Dust by Atong Atem, which explores Dinka women as spiritual custodians of the earth, alongside themes of Christianity and colonialism. It’s a beautiful, hand-bound book with beaded stitching, published by Dream Press, an independent South African studio I admire.”

“The Turkish market at Maybachufer on Fridays has become a ritual to kick off the weekend. Great food, fresh produce and textiles. It happens to be right around the corner from our studio, and next to a river that’s home to swans.

For dinner, I would almost always pick Vietnamese. Berlin has so many Vietnamese restaurants, it’s great, I’ve genuinely never had a bad meal while exploring it all. My usual is Chay Umi in Prenzlauer Berg, which is also fully vegan.”

“Perfect Days by Wim Wenders is one I return to regularly. It has a kind of calm that quietly rekindles excitement about life and just living. Squaring the Circle: The Story of Hipgnosis is also a regular rewatch for me, because of the intersection of design and music – it’s about the design studio behind album covers for Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin and many others throughout the 70s. And more recently, Listers: A Glimpse Into Extreme Birding, a documentary that I feel is an unexpected take on the format. I also appreciate the handcrafted scenes in between, so unique and fun! Anything new like that always excites me.”