Bibi Chemnitz (born 1983) [1] is a Greenlandic fashion designer who is based in Copenhagen, Denmark. Raised in Greenland by her Inuit parents, she moved to Denmark when she was 13 and studied fashion design in Herning. In 2006, she and her partner established the Bibi Chemnitz fashion business in Aarhus, moving to Copenhagen in 2012. Inspired by her Greenlandic heritage, her designs for both men and women have featured in international fashion shows and are marketed worldwide. [2] [3] [4]
Born in Nuuk on 30 December 1983, [1] Bibi Chemnitz is the daughter of two Native Greenlanders. As a child, she lived with her family in Narsaq, Maniitsoq and Nuuk. When she was 13 she moved to Denmark where she studied fashion design at VIA University College in Herning. [2]
In 2006, together with her partner David Røgilds, a Danish graphic artist and designer, she established the fashion business Bibi Chemnitz in Aarhus, moving to Copenhagen in 2012. [2] The firm markets fashions for both men and women through retailers around the world, including Galeries Lafayette, Beijing, the Koon department store in Seoul, and Podium Market in Moscow. Over the years, designs have been exhibited at fashion weeks throughout Europe and beyond. [4] Inspired by her Native heritage, Chemnitz combines Danish trends with Greenlandic patterns in her hats and prints, benefiting from Nordic minimalism. She also designs fashions which are suited to customers in countries such as India and China. [2] These include Chemnitz' innovative shapes and carefully tailored leisurewear. [5] As a result, she has become something of a star in Greenland although she prefers to avoid the limelight. [3]
In 2023-23, Chemnitz has exhibited in Paris and, hoping to develop marketing to Asia, in China and Japan. [6]
As in 2019, always happy to be back in Greenland, Chemnitz is a key participant at the 2023 Nuuk Nordic Cultural Festival, designing a variety of hats, tee-shirts, scarves and bags to fit the festival's needs. [6]
Nuuk is the capital of and most populous city in Greenland, an autonomous territory in the Kingdom of Denmark. Nuuk is the seat of government and the territory's largest cultural and economic center. The major cities from other countries closest to the capital are Iqaluit and St. John's in Canada and Reykjavík in Iceland. Nuuk contains a third of Greenland's population and its tallest building. Nuuk is also the seat of government for the Sermersooq municipality. In January 2024, it had a population of 19,872. Nuuk is considered a modernized city after the policy began in 1950.
The Inatsisartut, also known as the Parliament of Greenland in English, is the unicameral parliament of Greenland, an autonomous territory in the Danish Realm. Established in 1979, it meets in Inatsisartut, on the islet of Nuuk Center in central Nuuk.
Inuit Ataqatigiit is a democratic socialist, separatist political party in Greenland that aims to make Greenland an independent state. The party, founded as a political organisation in 1976, was born out of the increased youth radicalism in Denmark during the 1970s. Traditionally in favour of a socialist economy, the party has been criticised from the left of having gradually moved towards a capitalist approach, supporting a market economy and privatisation. Inuit Ataqatigiit believes that an independent Greenland should be competitive while fighting to keep the environment clean.
Peter Jensen is a clothing designer.
Aleqa Hammond is a Greenlandic politician and former member of the Danish Folketing (parliament). Formerly the leader of the Siumut party, she became Greenland's first female prime minister after her party emerged as the largest parliamentary faction in the 2013 elections. In 2014 she stepped down as prime minister and leader of Siumut, following a case of misuse of public funds. She was expelled from Siumut on 23 August 2016 after yet another case of misuse of public funds and became an independent. On 31 March 2018 she announced that she would be running in the 2018 Greenlandic parliamentary election for the Siumut breakaway Nunatta Qitornai.
Greenlandic people in Denmark are residents of Denmark with Greenlandic or Greenlandic Inuit heritage. According to StatBank Greenland, as of 2020, there were 16,780 people born in Greenland living in Denmark, a figure representing almost one third of the population of Greenland. According to a 2007 Danish government report, there were 18,563 Greenlandic people living in Denmark. The exact number is difficult to calculate because of the lack of differentiation between Greenlandic and Danish heritage in Danish government records and also due to the fact that the way in which people identify themselves is not always a reflection of their birthplace. As of 2018, there were 2,507 Greenlanders enrolled in education in Denmark.
Aaja Chemnitz Arnatsiaq Larsen is a Greenlandic politician, who is a member of the Danish Folketing for the Inuit Ataqatigiit, representing one of the two parliament seats for Greenland.
Vilhelmine Else Kathrine Dorthe Chemnitz was a Greenlandic politician, and a champion of Greenlandic women's education.
Mâliâraq Vebæk was a Greenlandic teacher and writer. She is known as the first woman of Greenland to publish a novel. One of the first women to obtain a higher education in Greenland, she began her career as a teacher. After six years, she relocated to Denmark and worked on archaeological excavations and ethnographic surveys with her husband from 1946 to 1962. She began publishing stories, legends and folktales in the 1950s, both through print media and on radio. In 1981, after having participated in a survey on the intercultural issues for Greenlanders and Danes, published a novel inspired by the research. It won the Greenlandic Authors Association Award for 1982.
Ivalo Abelsen is a Greenlandic teacher and artist, most known for a series of postage stamps she produced depicting animal, human and geometric designs relevant to Greenland's history.
Niviaq Korneliussen is a Greenlandic writer, who writes in Greenlandic and Danish. Her 2014 debut novel, HOMO sapienne was written and published in Greenlandic, as well as in a Danish translation by the author.
Henriette Ellen Kathrine Vilhelmine Rasmussen née Jeremiassen was a Greenlandic educator, journalist, women's rights activist and politician. In 1992, she provided support for the adoption of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and in 1996, was appointed principal advisor to the ILO in connection with the 1989 Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention. As a member of Inuit Ataqatigiit from the early 1980s, she strove for Greenlandic independence from Denmark and served as Greenland's Minister of Culture and Education (2003–2005).
Greenland is one of the 12 multi-member constituencies of the Folketing, the national legislature of the Kingdom of Denmark. The constituency was established in 1975 following the merger of the two constituencies that covered Greenland. The constituency currently elects two of the 179 members of the Folketing using the open party-list proportional representation electoral system. At the 2022 general election it had 41,305 registered electors.
Homo Sapienne, also known as HOMO sapienne or Last Night in Nuuk or Crimson, is a Greenlandic novel by Niviaq Korneliussen, published in 2014 in the Greenlandic language. After winning a short story competition, Korneliussen was financially supported to write the novel over three months, but she wrote it in only one. It is about the lives of several LGBT characters in Nuuk, the capital of Greenland. While reviewers commended its subject matter, the novel had issues with pacing and tone; it received a mixed critical reception.
Bolatta Silis-Høegh is a Greenlandic contemporary artist and children's book author and illustrator who lives in Denmark.
Maria Panínguakʼ Kjærulff is a Greenlandic Inuit artist and actor.
Dorthea (Dorthe) Rebekka Augusta Kristoffersen née Jakobsen was a Greenlandic artist from the country's west coast. A talented craftswoman who had previously embroidered skins and created dolls, after her marriage with Kristoffer Kristoffersen (1902–1970), she concentrated on creating small mythological figures in local soapstone. Her works have been exhibited in Denmark and can be seen in the Greenland National Museum in Nuuk.
Marie Jessie Kleemann née Jensine Marie Kristensen is a Greenlandic artist and writer. Educated both as an actor and a graphic artist, from 1984 to 1991 she headed Greenland's College of Art in Nuuk. Now recognized principally as a performance artist expressing Inuit themes in music and dance, her innovative poetry has featured in international festivals. Kleemann now lives and works in Copenhagen where she strives to revive Greenland's cultural heritage.