Atelier LANIKA consists of Lani Tran-Duc and Anika Marquardt. They met in Hamburg at the Thalia Theater during their three-year assistantship. Before that, Lani studied architecture at the University of the Arts Berlin and ETSAV Barcelona, while Anika completed an apprenticeship in craftsmanship before studying costume design at the University of Applied Sciences and Arts in Hanover.
Since 2010, they have been collaboratively designing costumes and stage sets. They have a strong interest in complex project developments with a focus on socio-political issues, documentary research, large-scale installations, character development, participatory and collective work—while also casually trying to dismantle the patriarchy.
One of their first collaborations was with Nicolas Stemann at the Wiener Festwochen and the Thalia Theater Hamburg. They have maintained a working relationship for over ten years with directors Maria Ursprung and Helge Schmidt.
Helge Schmidt’s production Cum-Ex Papers: A Study on Unleashed Finance at the Lichthof Theater won the FAUST Award for Best Direction in 2019. Its sequel, Tax for Free, which focuses on the entanglements of business and politics, was awarded the Rolf Mares Prize.
ATELIER LANIKA works throughout the German-speaking world, at municipal and state theaters such as the Thalia Theater Hamburg, Theater Luzern, the Burgtheater, Schauspielhaus Zürich, Theater Lübeck, and Volksbühne am Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz Berlin. Their work is also seen at renowned independent venues such as Lichthof Theater and Kampnagel in Hamburg, Mousonturm in Frankfurt, and Sophiensaele in Berlin. Their projects span theater, opera, staged concerts, dance and performance, and installations in public spaces.
Both artists also work independently and live with their families in Hamburg and Hanover.