Pride is all about being yourself – in every colour, shape and style. At Batavia Stad, we celebrate this with a message of love, safety and togetherness. Because you are unique, but never alone.
Activist and part of the community, Bas Koster creates drawings, paintings, textile art and more from his studio in Amsterdam. He creates colourful worlds inhabited by endearing figures that reflect his social engagement. Through his art, Bas explores personal and societal themes, approaching difficult emotions in a light way with subtle and occasionally wry humour.
This year, we bring the colourful dream world of Bas Kosters to life in a collaboration full of expression, creativity and pride. The limited edition collection features bags and emblems that powerfully convey the Pride message: be yourself and celebrate it. Wear the symbol in your own way – because Pride is both personal and collective.
“Flags are about power, flags say something – they’re not just symbols.” - Gilbert Baker"
That’s the thing that connects us – connects art through all the diversity, from generation to generation – is that moment that we all share when all of a sudden we realise who we are.” - Gilbert Baker
“Everything exploded in 1978, this was an amazing moment of empowerment.” - Gilbert Baker
“I knew right away that the rainbow would be the perfect fit for us because it expressed our diversity in terms of our gender, our race, our ages, all the ways that were different and yet connected.” - Gilbert Baker
“We needed something that worked beyond words, and the rainbow fits perfectly.” - Gilbert Baker
“I can try and express it in words, but it will never have the power of the actual flag flying and what the meaning of that is to the person that put it up and the people seeing it.” - Gilbert Baker
Representing the experiences of people of colour, which was also seen in the 2017 Philadelphia Pride flag. The black stripe has additional meaning, as it represents the individuals living with HIV/AIDS, those have passed from the virus, and the overall stigma surrounding this topic.
Representing the transgender community, these three colours are seen in the Transgender Pride flag that was created in 2000. The light blue and pink represents ‘traditional’ colours for boys and girls, while white represents those who identify as transgender, gender nonconforming (GNC), or have an undefined gender.
This element matches the Intersex flag, which was designed in 2013.These two colours were chosen as neither are associated with the social constructs of the gender binary. The perfect circle represents the wholeness of intersex people and the way they are perfect exactly as they are or have chosen to be.