[ 01 ]Â About
David Paulus is a multidisciplinary Afro‑Curaçaoan artist and teacher of visual arts.
Since 2007 he has worked at the intersection of fashion, textiles and installation art; what began as the creation of wearable stories has evolved into a research‑driven practice centered on material, colour and origin.
Between 2020 and 2024 he completed the teacher training program Docent Beeldende Kunst en Vormgeving at Fontys School of the Arts, deepening both his artistic and educational practice.
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His work is rooted in memory, tradition and ancestry. Growing up in Curaçao amid community rituals and religious practices, he translates those images and customs into texture, form and colour. Much of his practice is an intentional tribute to his roots and ancestors—he remembers and honours them through his work, using materials and techniques as carriers of family history and collective memory. He often works with familiar and sustainable materials—weathered fabrics, found trimmings and costume elements—that carry stories and memories. The colours he chooses echo the island’s vivid palette—intense, sunny and full of contrast—and amplify the emotional charge of his pieces.
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Technique and craft are essential to his practice: seams, folds, embroidery and structural construction reveal the making process and a care for material. Small samples function as experimental laboratories that can grow into larger installations or spatial interventions. Sustainability and reuse are constant concerns: his material choices and methods are motivated by both aesthetics and ethics.
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As a teacher he works with both higher‑education students and younger pupils, combining research skills with hands‑on making. He encourages participants to investigate cultural sources, experiment with material, and consider presentation and pedagogical application. His teaching is practical and reflective: technical mastery is paired with the ability to use material as a carrier of story and meaning.
[ 02 ]Â CV
[2] Journey
After Mesa (2025) Museum Arnhem and Valkhof Museum - Dot project starts in Feb 2025- Jan 2026: Collaborated with a participant with roots from Curaçao and incorporated a tablecloth into an installationÂ
Contrast: Exhibition Seven State of Man (2025)- Fashion Clash - Group assignment between DavidPaulus and Merle van Slobbe.
Paga Tera Fashion show 2025 in Amsterdam - In this solo show, I presented my new collection inspired by my grandfather (he paid the land to the ancestors with a splash of rum).
Unraveled roots by FDFA 2025. Designer selected for a group expo for the Fashion Design Festival in Arnhem. Inspired by Arnhem and fashion throughout the years from 1900 to the present. Outfit made with AFVL denim.
Artwork Blossoms by Our Heritage 2024Â
Exhibition Tussen Grenzen, Museum Arnhem 2023. A joint exhibition at Museum Arnhem dealing with migration.
Art exhibition Tula Day 2022 - inspired by the Seú - a harvest festival celebrated every year in Curaçao; this work was first shown in Arnhem during the FDFA 2019.
FDFA Rozet Arnhem 2019: inspired by the Seú - is a harvest festival which is celebrated every year in Curaçao. The clothing is made of unbleached cotton with organic acrylic dye.
Paris Fashion Week Haute Couture -Summer- 2019
Aruba Art Fair - Fashion meets Art Fashion Show - 2017
Fashion show Pop Art Disco -2017
Expo times FDFA in Rozet Arnhem - 2017
Aruba Art Fair - Fashion meets Art Fashion Show -2016
Paris Fashion Week Tableau Vivant and exhibition - 2015
Amsterdam Fashion Week Downtown -Group- Pop art Collection-2015
Exhibition World Fashion Week Paris 2014
Fashion show theme Circus- 2014
London Fashion Week 2013- Fashion Flash mob at the summer set house.
Fashion show - NAME COLLECTION- 2013
Amsterdam Fashion Week A/W - The Nutcracker 2013
Amsterdam Fashion Week Summer - Alice and the Dolls 2012
Curacao International Fashion Week 2012
Fashion show Retro la Future - Dru Fabriek Ulft 2011
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Nominations and awards:
Selected Recognition:Finalist for the 2024 Jacques de Leeuw Prize at FontysRecipient of the Briando mane solo di Kórsou den eksteroog Award, presented by Marvelyne Wiels (2016)Nominated as the official representative for Curaçao during World Fashion Week in Paris (2014)3rd Place Winner at the MAFB Fashion Battle (2011)