Architect, entrepreneur and founder of the Amarenak fashion label, Oihane Pardo Perez, will be this year´s guest of the Eloise Garmendia Bieter Chair, promoted by the Etxepare Basque Institute at Boise State University (BSU).

During her stay at BSU, Oihane Pardo will explore innovative ways to raise awareness of Basque history and culture, using art and fashion as strategic tools.

Through academic and community sessions, she will explore how clothing preserves culture and help pass it on to future generations. Simultaneously, she will conduct a small research project focused on the Basque diaspora in the United States, aiming to study contemporary expressions of Basque identity and uncover potential opportunities for future collaboration and design initiatives.

Below are the activities she will carry out as a guest researcher:

23 March, 12:00 (GMT -6): lecture as part of the subject ‘Basque Global Migration’, titulada ‘What We Carry: Migration, Identity, and Cultural Memory Woven into Clothing’.
23 March, 17:00 (GMT -6): lecture open to the public titled ‘Small Country, Global Impact: How Design Amplifies Non-Dominant Cultures’.
25 March: presentation of ‘Tradition as Method: Cultural Activation Through Basque Dress’, at the seminar led by John Bieter.
31 March, 18:00 (GMT -6): lecture ‘Threads of Memory: Designing Local Identity for Global Presence’ at the Boise Euskal Etxea.
1 April: screening of the documentary ‘Memory, War, and Identity: Matxitako — Stories the Sea Still Carries’, followed by discussion.

Oihane Pardo

Oihane Pardo Perez is an architect and entrepreneur born in Donostia and founder of the Amarenak brand. After graduating in Architecture and working internationally, she returned to Donostia in 2016 and created Amarenak, a design project based on the contemporary reinterpretation of traditional Basque clothing.

Over the past decade, she has reinterpreted and refreshed Basque material heritage and key historical moments through fashion, blending local production, sustainability, and the preservation of cultural identity. She currently employs design as a tool for cultural engagement and to strengthen territorial identity, creating connections between the Basque Country and its diaspora.

Eloise Garmendia Bieter Chair

Inaugurated in 2015, the Eloise Garmendia Bieter Chair promotes studies and research in the area of Basque language and culture. This Chair is named after the mother of David H. Bieter – mayor of Boise until 2020 and the only Basque-speaking mayor outside the Basque Country – for her prominent role in the community and commitment to Basque culture.