selected artists

Germany

  • Bahzad Sulaiman (b. 1991), is a Kurdish visual artist and performance maker currently based in Germany, he works to explore the human body as a dynamic and malleable sculpture, showcased through a variety of artistic mediums, including performance, visual art, and opera.

    Bahzad explores the multiple dimensions of the human body and considers its surface and depth in its temporality: as an archive of memory, as a present landscape, but also as a place and possible space of a different future. By contemplating the temporal aspects of the human form, his art becomes a captivating exploration of identity, time, and transformation. 
As interdisciplinary artist, Bahzad uses a diverse range of mediums like installation, performance, video, and images to delve into the complexities of the human body.
In his artwork he also addresses socio-political issues. Special attention is given to the relationship between spaces, bodies, identities, ritual, or traditional phenomena. But also, to important issues such as climate, resources, and food.

    In 2021/2022, he was granted a prestigious fellowship with the European network of opera academies, known as "enoa," at the renowned Festival d'Aix-en-Provence. This opportunity allowed him to further explore the intersection between performance and opera, enriching his artistic repertoire. 
Moreover, in 2022, Bahzad was honored with the Saarbrücken Culture Prize for Art 2022, a distinguished award bestowed every two years upon exceptional artists.

    His interdisciplinary artworks have been showcased in various exhibitions and festivals across multiple countries, including Germany, the UK, Turkey, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, France, the Netherlands, Bulgaria, Austria, Spain, and Syria.

    www.bahzad.de

  • Diego Alejandro is a multifaceted artist, known for his skills as a bassist, producer, jazz composer, and painter. With a profound love for fusion music, he weaves a captivating tapestry of free and abstract elements, juxtaposed against mathematical complexities and a symphony of instrumental timbres.

    Early Years and Artistic Trajectory:

    The musical journey began at the age of 15 when he embarked on his first studies of the electric bass with Gerardo Toro in La Serena Chile. Influenced by his mentor, he embraced the path of music. In 2011, he moved to Santiago, where he immersed himself in the world of contemporary music composition at the University of Chile. There, he found lifelong friends and future bandmates who would share his artistic pursuits. Seeking further growth, he enrolled at the Escuela Superior de Jazz in Santiago in 2015, studying under the guidance of bassist and composer Christian Gálvez, expanding his connections within the city's artistic scene.

    In parallel, during a creative crisis in 2017, Diego discovered a new form of artistic expression through drawing and painting. These intimate, therapeutic, and subconscious works became an integral part of his artistic identity.

    Style and Inspirations:

    Diego draws inspiration from an eclectic mix of musical influences, including the likes of Charles Mingus, Bach, Hermeto Pascoal, and South American folk music. His journey began with rock and funk, branching into jazz during his tutelage with his first teacher Gerardo Toro. Later, he delved into classical-romantic harmony at the conservatory and circled back to jazz, experimenting with big band compositions, contemporary music, hip-hop, neo-soul, free jazz, and neo-folk.

    Significant Achievements and Exhibitions:

    Throughout his career, Diego has achieved remarkable milestones, including recording his first EP, "Parresia," and his debut album, "Entre planetas y cunetas," with the band Parresia. He has embarked on multiple national and international tours, captivating audiences across the globe with his unique musical vision.

    Philosophy and Artistic Purpose:

    The music is the essence of his existence, a source of profound meaning during various phases of his life. He perceives music as the embodiment of abstraction before the concept, allowing him to explore the boundaries between intuition and rationality. In his compositions, Diego skillfully intertwines chaotic freedom with structured and mathematical precision, creating a harmonious blend that resonates deeply with his audience.

    Artistic Process:

    Creative process often starts with improvisation, where he lets his guitar, bass, or voice lead the way. He then translates these improvisations into written or digital form, drawing from his innermost emotions and experiences. His compositions journey through dreamlike, dramatic, climactic, and introspective moments, showcasing the depth of his artistic expression.

    Life and Art:

    Diego's life mirrors his art, akin to a captivating movie filled with constant improvisation, emotions, and unexpected encounters. His nomadic journey has taken him to different corners of the world, connecting with diverse artists and living through transformative experiences. Whether playing music on the streets or showcasing his abstract art at parties, Diego's life is an enthralling tale of beautiful unpredictability.

    Conclusión:

    improvisation is not just an artistic technique; it embodies survival and adaptation, encapsulating all facets of human expression. His insatiable curiosity drives him to explore the world, connect with fellow artists, and immerse himself in a sea of experiences. As his journey continues, Diego remains committed to embracing life's surprises and allowing his art to evolve, inspiring and resonating with audiences worldwide.

  • Ellen King is an Irish multidisciplinary composer, producer and DJ based in Berlin, Germany. Writing and performing music under her own name and ‘ELLLL’ moniker, Ellen has carved out a distinctive voice in both contemporary and club-music contexts, with compositions etched by abstract experimentalism, fragmented rhythms and bass-heavy club.

    From shimmering melodies and gliding breakbeats to left-field, icy, percussive drum tracks and cinematic ambient, Ellen has released several EPs showing the breadth of her talents as a producer. Labels include Paralaxe Editions (ES), Glacial Industrials (IE), and First Second Label (IE).

    In addition to her work in club music, Ellen has worked extensively as a multidisciplinary artist with commissions and collaborations in the realms of visual arts, film, installation, dance and performance art. Recent works include sound design and score for theatre production Das Ereignis, Deutsches SchauSpielHaus Hamburg and music composition Images & Sensations, commissioned for Ireland’s leading new music ensemble, Crash Ensemble.

    As a founding member of Gash Collective, an Ireland-wide platform that supports underrepresented people in music production and DJing, Ellen has advocated for diversity and visibility within the music scene through workshops and masterclasses and facilitated female, queer and non-binary participation in the DJ circuit. She has taught numerous workshops on music technology and DJing, lectured at many universities and spoken at conferences and panels worldwide such as the Embassy of Ireland Berlin, MUTEK Festival Tokyo, and Redbull Music Academy Dublin.

italy

  • Carlot-ta was born in 1990, in Vercelli, a little town in the north west of Italy. Her complex, formal music is built on a passionate, exuberant pianism, modal harmonies, sturm-und-drang interpretations. Her musical style has been described by critics as a mixture of sophisticated songwriting and pop attitude.

    Carlot-ta started performing live in 2010; since then, she played in more than 300 clubs, theatres and festivals – including Liverpool Sound City, Paratissima Skopje, Auditorium Parco della Musica in Rome, Teatro La Fenice in Venice, Teatro Ariston in Sanremo – sharing the stage with National and International artists such as Gilberto Gil, Cocorosie, Kaki King, Melissa Auf der Maur.

    In 2011, her debut album Make Me a Picture of the Sun (Anna the Granny/Audioglobe, 2011) won a number of Italian music awards as Best Debut Album of the Year. In 2012, her song Pamphlet was chosen by Ford for a National advertising campaign. In 2014 she wrote some songs for the Italian movie La Luna su Torino by Davide Ferrario.

    In 2013 Carlot-ta started collaborating with Rob Ellis – worldwide known for his work with PJ Harvey, Anna Calvi, Marianne Faithfull etc. – who produced her second album. Songs of Mountain Stream (Brumaio Sounds/Audioglobe, 2014), released in September 2014, has been inspired by Western Alps. Strings, piano, electronic drums coexist with unconventional and natural sounds – samples recorded in woods, rivers, and farms amongst the others – creating a strange microcosm: the artist's personal Arcadia.

    In 2016 Carlot-ta collaborates with Italian harpist and songwriter Cecilia, giving life to a side-project with the name of Doppelgänger.

    Murmure (Incipit Record/Egea Music, 2018) Carlot-ta’s new album, will be released in March 2018. It consists of 11 songs for pipe organ, vocals and drums/electronics. The album is produced by Paul Evans (Bedroom Community, Greenhouse Studio) and explores the range of timbers and possibilities of the traditional pipe organ in a songbook where dark and dramatic songs coexist with crooked or delicate ballades. The album is produced thanks to the contribution of SIAE and the Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage.

  • Formerly a videomaker, his research is aimed to connect, digitally and physically, images and sound.

    Gabriele never separates himself from his camera, his works are in fact a cross-section of urban life in which reality and mirage merge.

    Currently filmmaker for travel documentaries airing on Rai 3 and Sky.

  • Giovanni Corgiat Mecio aka Corgiat was born in 1995 in Turin, north of Italy. He graduated in Electronic Engineering at the Turin Polytechnic and simultaneously sharpen his finesse graduating in Electronic Music Production at the SAE Institute in Milan. Earned the bachelor’s degree in Electroacoustic Music Composition at the Conservatory “Giuseppe Verdi” in Turin with a dissertation on morphing system development and permeation of musical elements, he is currently studying for the master degree. Corgiat is a sound perfectionist and a persevering composer that continuously explores new music forms as a result of his miscellaneous education.

    He’s going to release his first solo album Antropo-Amorfo on Hedonic Reversal. Antropo-Amorfo also is an A/V project developed with Riccardo Franco-Loiri, aka Akasha, an Italian promising visual artist, member of the established High Files collective that Akasha co-founded in 2018. The result is a fine speculation on sound perception and its relationship with human nature, combined to an innovative creative research on digital abstract art. Antropo-Amorfo has been already presented as an A/V performance in events like Paratissima Festival (Ita), Apolide Festival (Ita) and Blues Rauschen (Ger).

    https://hedonicreversal.bandcamp.com/album/antropo-amorfo

portugal

  • Gabriel Junqueira is a multimedia artist, in his work he explores the relationships between body, technology and materiality in media such as digital images, sculptures and installations.

    As an extension of his research in visual arts, for 6 years he has been dedicated to the electronic music project Naves Cilíndricas. In 2020 he released two albums: Images of Disasters in High Resolution (via Meia Vida Label) and Mist (via Domina Label).

    At times melancholic and ethereal and at others hermetic and noisy, his melodic and computerized compositions composed of digitally generated timbres and hyper processed vocals, simultaneously evoke utopian and dystopian images, in an attempt to extrapolate limits between body, sound and image.

    Born in Fortaleza (Brazil), he lives and works in Lisbon (Portugal).

  • Júlia Lema Barros, was born in Lisbon, Portugal, and graduated in multimedia art with a specialization in sound art at the Ecole Supérieure d'Aix-en-Provence. She continued her training in sound art by starting a collaboration with DAF (dynamische akustiche Forschung) in Nürnberg.

    Her work focuses on creating fiction, mainly through sound pieces, immersive installations and video projections. Working with multimedia devices such as sound and video, she seeks to create stories that unfold in audiovisual installations.

    In recent years, Júlia has exhibited and created artworks for MNAC in Lisbon; the Château Lacoste - the Aix-en-Provence Biennale of Arts; Sub_Bar in Berlin; KulturNacht in Tübingen as an artist representing the Aix-en-Provence; the LyricNacht in Nuremberg; a sound installation in Krakow with DAF and at the Museu da Água / Reservatório da Patriarcal, in Lisbon, with Euphonia.

    Júlia was also invited to speak at the Drawing Room, in Lisboa, 2022, also in Artissima, Turin, and at the European project CIVIS, in La Sapienza, Rome. She is also the creator of the podcast How Soon Now podcast for Radio Zaï, working on the evolution of musical subcultures.

    She currently lives and works between France, Portugal and Germany.

    julialemabarros.com

  • Teresa Arega (1997, Madeira Island) has a degree in Fine Arts - Painting from the Faculty of Fine Arts of the University of Porto. She is currently a visual artist and educator, living and working in Porto.

    She is a member and co-founder of Departamento studio and creator of Varicela podcast, an audio archive of artistic projects in the city of Porto.

    Teresa exhibits solo and collectively in several cities in the country, participating in collaborative projects with other artists actively since 2014, of which the following stand out, "Peguei fogo ao céu" (2022, Galeria do Sol), "Trambolhão" (2022, Quinta Magnólia Cultural Centre), "Comedy of errors" (2022, Ocupa Gallery), "Feeling Blue" (2019, Espaço Real Galeria).

    As a visual artist, Teresa has a multidisciplinary practice that goes through drawing, painting, poetry, sculpture, installation, video, book making, prioritizing the site-specific format. It is field studies, historical texts, speculative fiction and philosophy that have informed her work and formed part of her research process. Through the various dimensions of imagination, speculation and the unknown, she seeks to create a multi-sensory experience that incites dialogue and contemplates humanity's relationship with the natural world.

selected artists