The Atelier Favela team exists through a changing group of volunteers who have the same goal: inspire deprived young people and contribute to their personal development. All of us have a passion for art and that’s in the broadest sense of the word, from music, dance, theatre, capoeira, cooking, yoga, acrobatics, product development, photography, ... everything that you can imagine.

Behind this initiative is the founder of Atelier Favela, Sabine Hamres from The Netherlands. She is busy 24 hours a day, surrendering all of her passion to the Cultural Centre in Nicaragua to make it a place of inspiration. Atelier Favela is her life's work. She is both a visual artists and teacher who studied product design at the Delft University Of Technology in The Netherlands. She knows how to inspire people with her enthusiasm and lets the children be her sun! Since June 2011 we’ve had the youngest participant of the Favela Family: Aiye Nilaya. With such creative parents there is no doubt young Aiye has a bright future in the arts.

At the site you’ll find Venezualian Jean Piña, who has made traveling his study of life. His years on the road provided him a wealth of experiences, which has made him an important figure at Atelier Favela, especially in classes dealing with African culture like capoeira, percussion and maculélé, which are his favorite subjects to teach. As a travelling artist, he also has years of experience in different handiwork techniques from silversmithing to macramé and even fire shows! Due to this he is a multifunctional teacher for (young) adults whom he guides in productions like “de Bolsa de Bota”. Jean grew up in Venezuela in comparable circumstances to the target group of Atelier Favela which allows him to connect with the children on a level that others simply cannot.