Jalila Essaïdi (born 1980) is a Dutch artist, inventor and entrepreneur based in

Eindhoven Eindhoven () is a city and municipality in the Netherlands, located in the southern province of North Brabant of which it is its largest. With a population of 238,326 on 1 January 2022,Netherlands. Essaïdi is specialised in the fields of modern biotechnology and biological arts (

bio-art BioArt is an art practice where artists work with biology, live tissues, bacteria, living organisms, and life processes. Using scientific processes and practices such as biology and life science practices, microscopy, and biotechnology (including t ...

), and an entrepreneur in the field of sustainability with a background in business management and expertise in cross-sectoral collaborations. She is also founder and director of the non-profit BioArt Laboratories, and the for-profit Inspidere BV.

Early life

Essaïdi obtained her bachelor's degree at the Fontys Hogeschool voor de Kunsten in Tilburg in 2009. She studied

Leiden University Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; nl, Universiteit Leiden) is a Public university, public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. The university was founded as a Protestant university in 1575 by William the Silent, William, Prince o ...

from 2008 to 2010, after which she also did her master's degree in Art Education at the Fontys Zuyd Alliance from 2010 to 2011. After her master's degree, she followed

Business Development Business development entails tasks and processes to develop and implement growth opportunities within and between organizations. It is a subset of the fields of business, commerce and organizational theory. Business development is the creation of ...

at the KTH Royal Institute of Technology in 2017 and Social Entrepreneurship at the Saïd Business School / University of Oxford and Skoll Center for Social Entrepreneurship in 2018.

Major works

Bulletproof skin

Essaidi is best known for her work '2.6g 329 m/s', also known as 'Bulletproof Skin' (2011), a project to achieve

bioengineered Biological engineering or bioengineering is the application of principles of biology and the tools of engineering to create usable, tangible, economically-viable products. Biological engineering employs knowledge and expertise from a number o ...

bulletproof Bulletproofing is the process of making an object capable of stopping a bullet or similar high velocity projectiles (e.g. shrapnel). The term bullet resistance is often preferred because few, if any, practical materials provide complete protectio ...

human skin. This project combined '' in vitro''

human skin The human skin is the outer covering of the body and is the largest organ of the integumentary system. The skin has up to seven layers of ectodermal tissue guarding muscles, bones, ligaments and internal organs. Human skin is similar to most ...

with spider silk from

genetically modified organism A genetically modified organism (GMO) is any organism whose genetic material has been altered using genetic engineering techniques. The exact definition of a genetically modified organism and what constitutes genetic engineering varies, with ...

s such as goats and silkworms to create a material that stops a slow-speed bullet, yet is pierced by one fired at normal speed. The impact of this international collaborative project was coined as a prime example of international cooperation by the

Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs , type = Department , logo = Ministerie van Economische Zaken en Klimaat Logo.png , logo_width = 250x250px , logo_caption = Logo of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy , image = Overzic ...

. 'Bulletproof Skin' is an artwork about the relativity- and dual nature of safety. Increased exposure to violence through news and other sources of (social)media manipulate our feeling of safety and gives rise to a culture of fear. The individual and even society can be driven by this feeling to make irrational responses to imaginary threats. With 'Bulletproof Skin', Essaïdi explores the social, political, ethical and cultural issues surrounding safety in a fearful world with access to new biotechnologies, by creating an exceptional controversial work: hybrid human art with a potential military application.

A simple line

With ‘A simple line’ (2014), Essaïdi attempts to merge the abstract idea of a line with its most tangible reality by having a zebra finch look at its own '' in vitro'' brain cells in the form of a line. A line made of specific cells ( simple cells) which give rise to the abstract concept of lines and our perception of them. 'A simple line' is a work about perception and the thin line between reality and abstraction. The project focuses on our neurological functioning and evokes the history of

Piet Mondrian Pieter Cornelis Mondriaan (), after 1906 known as Piet Mondrian (, also , ; 7 March 1872 – 1 February 1944), was a Dutch painter and art theoretician who is regarded as one of the greatest artists of the 20th century. He is known for being ...

. In De Stijl, Mondrian was exploring a reduction of figures that decomposed nature and reduced it to its primal forms and colours. ‘A simple line’ pushes the perceptual purity even further by (...) merging the abstract idea of a line with the most tangible reality.

Mestic

Another well-known project is 'Mestic' (2015), a novel and economically viable method for producing regenerated cellulose fibres derived from a waste stream:

cow manure Cow dung, also known as cow pats, cow pies or cow manure, is the waste product (faeces) of bovine animal species. These species include domestic cattle ("cows"), bison ("buffalo"), yak, and water buffalo. Cow dung is the undigested resid ...

. A breakthrough innovation that is fundamentally ahead with regards to sustainable practices of cellulose sources for

fashion Fashion is a form of self-expression and autonomy at a particular period and place and in a specific context, of clothing, footwear, lifestyle, accessories, makeup, hairstyle, and body posture. The term implies a look defined by the fashion in ...

. Two of the most polluting industries in the world are being radically transformed with this one single idea: Turning an acute

agricultural Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating Plant, plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of Sedentism, sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of Domestication, domesticated species created food ...

problem of waste into a new sustainable source of raw materials for the textile industry. Avoiding major

environmental catastrophe An environmental disaster or ecological disaster is defined as a catastrophic event regarding the natural environment that is due to human activity.Jared M. Diamond, '' Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed'', 2005 This point disti ...

s, giving rise to a local

circular economy A circular economy (also referred to as circularity and CE) is a model of production and consumption, which involves sharing, leasing, reusing, repairing, refurbishing and recycling existing materials and products as long as possible. CE aims ...

with cow manure, therefore allowing the agricultural sector to adhere to (inter)national policies while still making it possible for them to keep their investment (cows) and grow. 'Mestic' is a work about overriding our natural aversion to waste. In nature, nothing is considered waste. Yet manure, in its essence, is easily considered the vilest substance we know. ‘Mestic’ shows that even this most disgusting matter is inherently beautiful

Career

Essaïdi excels in particular in the field of inspiration. She reaches a diverse audience through her many media interviews and publications, her worldwide audience for lectures, and her presence in the world's largest Museums. Recent exhibitions include: Victory and Albert Museum, London; State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow; World Expo 2017, Nur-Sultan; Power station of Art, Shanghai. Essaïdi's projects have been covered by Associated Press, Reuters, CNN and the BBC, among numerous others. It is when she founded her startup Inspidere BV (2015), to capitalise on this research, that she got invited to Startup Fest Europe to pitch among world-class speakers such as

Eric Schmidt Eric Emerson Schmidt (born April 27, 1955) is an American businessman and software engineer known for being the CEO of Google from 2001 to 2011, executive chairman of Google from 2011 to 2015, executive chairman of Alphabet Inc. from 2015 to 20 ...

(CEO Alphabet/Google), Tim Cook (CEO Apple) and Travis Kalanick (CEO Uber). More recent significant keynote lectures include the Biodiversity Next Conference 2019, and the Creativity World Forum 2019. Essaïdi resides in the Eindhoven region. She was voted first place for ‘Regional Top Woman' in 2017. Essaïdi's impact was also recognised in Europe, in 2019 Essaïdi was finalist for the EU Prize for Women Innovators, by the European Commission

Inspidere

Inspidere is a for-profit biotech company, based in Eindhoven. With Inspidere Essaïdi set out to develop her patented multiple award-winning innovations such as methods for creating high performance fabrics and composite materials reinforced with spider silk obtained from genetically modified goats, and her method for producing manure-derived paper; bioplastics; and regenerated cellulose fibres. The successful development of Mestic was recognised in 2017 by the textile industry and Jalila Essaïdi was awarded with the Global Change Award. This is a prestigious award offered by the H&M Foundation, that came with 150.000-euro prize money and the support of H&M Foundation, H&M, Accenture and KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm. Through this award, Essaïdi participated in an incubator by KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm. Through both the H&M foundation and

Accenture Accenture plc is an Irish-American professional services company based in Dublin, specializing in information technology (IT) services and consulting. A ''Fortune'' Global 500 company, it reported revenues of $61.6 billion in 2022. Accentur ...

Essaïdi developed direct contact with all major retail players in this industry and visited manufacturing plants in Shanghai. The opportunity (through H&M) to talk with anyone in the apparel industry and ask them any questions was vital since this industry is a really closed industry with limited access. Finally, the expertise of Accenture dealing with global projects, extended across multiple industries was key to the successful implementation of a truly sustainable version of Mestic. Mestic has shown unprecedented emission reductions, reducing significant GWP in both the agricultural sector and the textile industry. A single t-shirt produced through this method reduces emissions by 1 kg of equivalents. Based on these results, and the power to change current practices, Essaïdi won in 2018 the Clim@ competition, an award organised by the Green for Growth Fund, initiated by the

European Investment Bank The European Investment Bank (EIB) is the European Union's investment bank and is owned by the EU Member States. It is one of the largest supranational lenders in the world. The EIB finances and invests both through equity and debt solutions ...

. Through this award Essaïdi gained full support for obtaining future financing. In addition to the environmental impact, Mestic focusses beyond revenue and profit, which won Essaïdi in 2018 the Chivas Venture. This is a prestigious award for social entrepreneurship offered by

Chivas Regal Chivas Regal () is a blended Scotch whisky manufactured by Chivas Brothers, which is part of Pernod Ricard. It was founded in 1786, with its home being in the Strathisla distillery at Keith, Moray in Speyside, Scotland, and is the oldest contin ...

, that came with 200.000-dollar prize money and the support of Saïd Business School and the

Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship The Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship is an academic entity for the advancement of social entrepreneurship at Saïd Business School at the University of Oxford. The Centre's goal is to "maximise the impact of social entrepreneurship to trans ...

BioArt Laboratories Foundation

Essaïdi does not just inspire other women to become innovators/leaders in innovation, but through her non-profit foundation BioArt Laboratories she actively scouts worldwide for young top- talents in (bio)tech, art and design. The foundation provides them with professional guidance in development and intellectual property; a 2000m2 laboratory; and a rapid prototyping facility to make their ideas more tangible. The core idea behind the foundation is: innovation for innovation is meaningless. The creative industry offers unique tools to make innovation socially relevant. Starting 2020 the BioArt Laboratories Foundation is the National Development Institute for the Biological Arts, part of the basic cultural infrastructure directly funded by the Dutch Government. The foundation collaborates among others with NWO (Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research, The Hague) and ZonMW (Medical Research Council, The Hague) and combines top-talents with top Dutch research groups in the life sciences through the Bio Art & Design Awards to collaborate on art and innovation. Through the foundation, Essaïdi has a direct impact on the innovation ecosystem and provides startup-accelerators, research groups and individuals with ideas and talents that can stand on their own.

Honours and awards

*EU Prize for Women Innovators, by the European Commission, 2019 (finalist) * High Tech Piek Award, by Innovation Origins, 2019 * Inspiring Fifty Netherlands, by Inspiring Fifty, 2019 * Katerva Award, by Katerva, 2018 (finalist) * Clim@ competition, by Green for Growth Fund and the

, 2018 * The Chivas Venture, by

, 2018 * WDCD Climate Challenge, by What Design Can Do, 2018 * Regional Top Woman, by Frits Magazine, 2017 * Global Change Award, by H&M Foundation, 2017 * TheNextWomen Competition, by TheNextWomen, 2017 (finalist) * Postcode Lotteries Green Challenge, by the

Nationale Postcode Loterij The Nationale Postcode Loterij (National Postcode Lottery) is the biggest charity lottery in the Netherlands. It was founded in 1989 by Novamedia, a marketing agency that sets up and runs charity lotteries. Forty percent of the proceeds of this lo ...

, 2017 (finalist) * Accenture Innovation Awards, by

, 2017 (finalist) * Future Textiles Award, 2017 (finalist) * Inspiring Fifty Netherlands, by Inspiring Fifty, 2017 * ASN Bank Wereldprijs, by

ASN Bank ASN Bank is a former Dutch bank, now a brand name for some consumer banking operations by de Volksbank. ASN focusses on socially responsible and sustainable investments. ASN Bank was founded on May 1, 1960, by the union of ''Federatie Nederland ...

, 2016 (finalist) * High Potential Talent, by BKKC, 2013 *

Prix Ars Electronica The Prix Ars Electronica is one of the best known and longest running yearly prizes in the field of electronic and interactive art, computer animation, digital culture and music. It has been awarded since 1987 by Ars Electronica (Linz, Austria) ...

- by Ars Electronica, 2012

References

External links

jalilaessaidi.cominspidere.combioartlab.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Essaidi, Jalila Dutch artists 21st-century Dutch businesswomen 21st-century Dutch businesspeople People from Eindhoven Living people BioArtists 1980 births