Annotations cc: Anna Zimmermann

Anna Zimmermann is a designer, artist, and founder of Welding Club, a community of women that practice welding, and claim space within a field conventionally dominated by men. Each iteration challenges the gendered dynamics of industrial craft. Her approach to making is rooted in an awareness of the structures that determine who has access to certain fields and who is excluded. In this conversation, we return to gender politics in contemporary design, the invisible barriers that persist in creative industries, and the need to rethink not only how objects are made, but how knowledge is shared — and gatekept.

Anoe: I was initially drawn to your expertise in welding. We met a few months ago when I approached you for a design consultation. We addressed technical considerations and moved on to discuss gendered experiences. How have industry dynamics shaped your design practice?

Anna: Growing up in a gender-biased society, I internalized doubts about my abilities, particularly in fields like metalwork that require working with heavy tools. It took effort to overcome those barriers and believe I could do anything. This struggle is personal, but it’s also a structural issue many others face. Gender in design and art is something I think about often.

AM: I can relate to that. In the process of developing a design language, there are obstacles to overcome, rather socially and psychologically imposed than physical. How did you develop your practical skills?

AZ: It’s only in the past few years that I’ve really started working with objects and sculptures. Working three-dimensionally felt overwhelming before. I developed initially in the direction of visual communication, and only after personal experimentation did I continue my studies in product design. In my work today, there is a lot of influence from two-dimensional forms and shapes, and negative space. For a long time, it was difficult to allow myself to play freely and move away from fixed design processes. That’s something I’ve had to unlearn.

 

AM: What kinds of ideas do you intend to express through material?

AZ: Beyond form and aesthetics, I care about the social and ethical aspects of design: questions of collaboration, relevance, and responsibility as a designer or artist. Sustainability is also a significant part of my work; I approach it as more than just a material concern. I focus on how to sustain crafts, how to sustain women in design, and how to create inclusive practices. Most of my projects start from personal motivation, linked to society.

 

AM: There’s a social dimension, that concerns not only users or clients but the context of design. There’s still a lot of inequality in how design and history are told. The absence of references allows underrepresentation to persist. It  limits who can see themselves in that role. Welding Club is a project that you developed at RCA in London. It is a self-organised workshop, that addresses structural issues around gender and knowledge. It feels subversive in its own way, because it shifts focus from the outcome to the process itself. The gathering is the work. How do you see the relationship between process and output?

AZ: Welding Club was never meant to be a formal project. It happened organically. My personal goal was to teach myself welding and document that journey, including how I felt and what conversations it sparked. From those conversations, many women around me said they had always wanted to learn welding but didn’t know how to start or felt unwelcome in workshops. So I said I could teach them. The name Welding Club was intentional — a play on words, referencing knitting clubs or book clubs, which are often gendered. It started as a small group of friends but quickly grew because of the interest. The gathering is essential. It runs parallel to my practice, and although there’s sometimes a physical output, that’s not the main goal. Still, having a tangible outcome can help make the project visible and concrete, but it’s more about the ongoing exchange and shared experience.

 

AM: You mentioned documenting your learning process. Are those notes accessible to the group, or are they private? How have they been relevant?

AZ: They’re still private, in a notebook I call Exercises on Welding. It’s been valuable to look back at my first attempts and feelings because it reminds me what it’s like to be a beginner. As you get better, you forget how vulnerable it felt.

AM: Something I notice from our conversation is that you enjoy learning on your own, a self-taught approach, and sharing that process with others.

AZ: Shared vulnerability creates a safe space. Learning in a group also makes it easier, as you’re not alone, and everyone is figuring it out together.

 

AM: How do you see Welding Club developing?

AZ: There will be a Welding Club exhibition in September. I’m really looking forward to that. My plan is to host Welding Club regularly, ideally every month, if not more often. The sessions usually run for a day or an evening, but I would like them to be recurring, like a Wednesday gathering — not just about learning a skill, but also about creating a community and coming together as a group.

AM: Rethinking design as a practice and as a network of practitioners. A collective experience reshapes that network to be more inclusive.

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Text: Anoe Melliou
Images: Design Series by Anna Zimmermann, Photography by Maria Ritsch, Leo Hilzensauer, Anna Zimmermann.