“The Improvised Family” is an ongoing research and artistic project that traces the lives, works, and intertwined histories of the artists Claudio Goulart, Flavio Pons, and Maya Gordon—three key figures who shaped my childhood and artistic upbringing in Amsterdam. Through conversations, archival research, and encounters with those who knew/know them, the project explores themes of migration, queer kinship, aids, performance, community, and the fragile borders between private and artistic life.

Reconstructing scattered archives, lost materials, and personal memories, the project seeks to understand how this improvised family of artists influenced one another and how their aesthetic worlds continue to resonate today. re-activating a shared history—honoring their legacy while opening new spaces for dialogue, collaboration, and reflection.

work by Claudio Goulart

Book By Fons Elders

Dress by Flavio Pons