Zane Berzina, daughter of a well-known Latvian textile artist Astrida Berzina, started her career in art as an eleven year old girl by passing her entrance examinations at the Janis Rozentals Fine Art School in Riga, Latvia. Whilst there her time-table was very predictable: regular training in realistic drawing and painting lasting up to seven hours daily every day, in addition to the ordinary grammar school programme was the norm until she graduated in 1989. She continued her studies at the Latvian Academy of Arts, Textile Art Department and simultaneously started to participate in student shows and group exhibitions. Historically this was a period of significant political and economic change as Latvia became an independent state after 50 years of occupation by the Soviet Union. This new situation opened a door to unknown and challenging possibilities, cultural exchanges and interesting contacts. In 1994 Zane received her first scholarship for one-year of study at The University of Arts and Design in Helsinki (UIAH) in Finland, Textile Department. There she first experienced textiles as a design discipline. This experience mixed with her fine arts background gave a fresh edge to her creative practice. In 1995 she moved to Germany where she studied Industrial Textile Design at the University of the Arts Berlin. Zane is also a European Master of Art award holder from the University of Southampton, UK (2000). As a part of the European MA Programme in Fashion and Textile Design she studied textile design at the Winchester School of Art and Design Marketing and Management at the Institut Frainçais de la Mode, Paris. After receiving a scholarship her intense studies culminated in a Ph.D. award from the University of the Arts London (2000 - 2005). From 2000 - 2004 Zane taught Textile Practice in interdisciplinary study projects at the Berlin University of the Arts as well as on the MA EFTD Programme in association with the Southampton University, UK. From 2004 - 2006 she lectured at Goldsmiths, University of London. She also gives guest lectures, masterclasses and consultations at various higher education institutions and design companies internationally. In 2006 Zane together with Prof. Joseph Tabbi, founded the e-text+textiles project in Riga, Latvia. Now together with Prof. Tabbi and Dr Manuela Rossini she is co-directing this platform facilitating artistic investigation and production in the fields of literature, language, textiles, and material culture, promoting expression at the intersections of print, cloth, and electronic technologies.  back