Bio

Maja Jantar is an interdisciplinary, multilingual and polysonic artist living in Isokyrö, Finland, whose work spans the fields of poetry, performance, music, ceramics, visual arts and theatre. Interested in creating connections, engaging with the more than human, using various media. Collaborative – be it in performance or theatre, with interest in hybrid forms, poetics, ecology, history, rituals, and arts as a form of ritual. 

A co-founder of the poetic group Krikri, she has been giving individual and collaborative performances throughout Europe and experimenting with poetic sound works since 1996. 

 

As opera director she has directed various productions, including Monteverdi’s classic Incoronazione di Poppea, Sciarrino’s contemporary Infinito Nero as well as Humperdinck’s Hänsel und Gretel and Bernstein’s West Side Story. She created various theatrical music performances, for small and big stage, among others 4 performances for symphonic orchestra aimed at a young audience, with the Symphony Orchestra of Flanders. 

 

Her visual poetry has appeared amongst others in the catalogue Zieteratuur (The Netherlands); EOROPOE, an anthology of European poets; The Future of Poetry, GanGan Lit Mag #50; Fractured Ecologies.

Her visual work has been shown in several exhibits: at the Art Book Fair, arts centre Wiels in Brussels; at Été 78 in Brussels and Les Abattoirs de Bomel in Namur; and at Palais de Tokyo in Paris, in LA VOIX LIBERÉE a sound poetry exhibition. 

In 2022 she collaborated with German based artist platform Rotterdam Presenta on E.P.I.C an exploration of inevitable plastic. In 2021/2022 Premièred U Ki Yo E – a multimedia collaboration with Godfried-Willem Raes’s Logos Robot Orchestra, where voice, movement, robots and video animation create a sensorial journey through a Japanese woodblock print. Acted as ‘la musicienne’ in Michael D’Auzon’s long feature “Depuis que le soleil à brülée” (the film will come out in 2024). Performed in “Asfaraswecantell” a dance/sound production by choreographer Ine Claes, Belgian tour. Created a sound and ceramic installation in the shape of a banquet for the Pückler Karavane in Germany and a ceramic sound installation ‘Shoreline’ for Lunalia Festival Mechelen, Belgium. Toured with opera project Enoch Arden, at amongst others Grand Théatre de Genêve in Switzerland and Festival of Flanders Mechelen. In 2022 she performed at Twisted Shout #2 Text/Sound festival in Stockholm, performing her solo vocal sound work. Collaborated with pianist and curator Guy Vandromme on Silence – an immersive concert based on 3’44 by John Cage and Sleepconcert, for babies, in Wemmel, Belgium, and Malmö, Sweden. As well as Guy’s Timemonochromes project in Belgium, and Argentina (Buenos Aires nov. 2023).

Created Ichigo Ichie, a multi disciplinary sensory installation combining traditional tea ceremony with a ceramics sound installation, march 2023 Galerie19, Gent, Belgium.

Collaborated with students of Aalto University to create an audio visual performance for planetaria, performed in Tartu (Estonia) to be performed again in the planetarium of Brussels at the end of 2024 as part of the European Poetry Festival. She took part in the Zone Libre Sound and Art Festival 2024 in Bastia (Corsica) both with her installation M[other]land, solo voice work,and duo performance with Philippe Franck.

 Currently she is working on Splendor Solis, a multi-disciplinary eco poetic project. Both M[other]land and Splendor Solis have been made possible with the support of Taike. In 2024 she will direct the openings concert of Lunalia Festival in belgium, perform at Talklang festival in South Tirol, Italy. Collaborate with Arthouse Yellow Art and Musica Divina Festival in Geel, Belgium on an installation.

Recent sound publications have appeared on the Transsonic label amongst others on CitySonic #14. In 2022 het first solo LP  In/Canti has been released on the ERRATUM label (Paris/Barcelona) in the series VOXXX and a duo release in collaboration with ParadiseNow 

on the Transsonic label (Mons, Belgium) which will be released in LP form in the course 2024

 

Studies

 

1995-2000 : Art Sciences, specialisation visual arts at the University of Ghent (BE), thesis: Le poison de l’être – a search for Antonin Artauds Rodez drawings.

2001 : Action Painting studies with Herman Nitsch at the summer academy in Salzburg.

 

Publications

 

– DA maL Saturn heran kam, Neue Musik und ihr Umfeld, In Erinnerung an Karl Amadeus Hartman zum 100  Geburtstag; Bayerischer Rundfunk; Berlin/Leiptzig; 2006

– Zieteratuur, concrete en visuele poëzie; Uitgeverij Passage; Groningen

– Écrivains en Séries, saison2; éditions Laureli / Léo Scheer; Paris; 2010

– Paralipomena; Selected works, artbook and CD at Hybriden Verlag; Berlin

– Literary Mag Kluger Hans,We artists are a danger to fanatism; 03-2011

– Kakania, an Anthology; Occasions 14; 2015

– Collaboration on Animalwrath, a cd by Phil Maggi, subrosa, 2018

– Collaboration on the cd  ‘On Top’, by Philippe Petit and Friends, Aagoo Records, 2018

– CD | City Sonic 2019-20 Winter Sessions | Sound Art Catalogue

– No Lockdown Sonopoetics – Confined correspondences – #NoLA2020

– solo LP  In/Canti, ERRATUM label (paris/Barcelona) in the series VOXXX                            

– publication in “Wordless is not Speechless – Text Sound Composition at Fylkingen” editor Teddy Hultberg, 2022 Arne Forsén Kulturproduktion

Maja Jantar is a Fellow (theatre 2012) of the Bogliasco Foundation and a Guest professor (opera direction, and extended vocal techniques) at the Royal Conservatory of Brussels.

 

Solo Exhibitions

 

2016: ‘Exercise the unseen’, SecondRoom, Ghent, Belgium

2018: A[r]mour a study in [mur] – European poetry Festival Brussels

 

Group exhibitions

 

2000: Summer school exhibition, Festung, Sommerakademie, Salzburg, Austria

2001: Exhibition of paintings at the Van Crombrugge Genootschap, with photographer Benn Deceuninck, Ghent, Belgium

Group exhibition at the CJK (Centre of Young Art) Ghent, Belgium

2004: Exhibition of visual and photo graphical work at the Campo Santo together with painter Jerry Heymans, Ghent, Belgium

2005: Exhibition with Frie J. Jacobs at Gallery Link, Ghent, Belgium

2007: Soundinstallation at the CJK (Centre of Young Art) Ghent, Belgium Exhibit at Galerie 93 in Schiedam, The Netherlands

2014: residency exhibition, Verksmidjan Hjalteyri, Iceland

2015: Art Book fair, Wiels, Brussels, Belgium

2016: ‘“That Other Stoic Comedian“: des oeuvres, des performances et des lectures autour  de l’écrivain irlandais Flann O’Brien.’, Été 78, Brussels, Belgium.

‘Laborattoirs’, Abattoirs de Bomel, Centre Culturel de Namur, Namur, Belgium

2017: ‘Follow the red line’, graphic scores exhibition for MUSICA in Dommelhof, Neerpelt, Belgium

‘Curator art’ curated by Ben Benaouisse, Jan Colle galerie, Ghent, Belgium

2019: La voix Liberée – sound exhibition at the Palais de Tokyo in Paris

2021: Pückler Karavane with ceramic art  installation ‘Dinner with abSENT’ 

‘Shoreline’ – a ceramic sound installation for LUNALIA festival Mechelen.

2022: Video piece ‘Atemwende” for the exhibit ‘Stiltenisse’ by Frie J. Jacobs at Wouter de Bruyker gallery in Antwerp.

2023: Open Studio, M[other]land exhibition, at studio space in Orismala, a presentation of work created during the 6 month regional work grant

2024: Museum of Bastia (Corsica) M[other$land exhibition, and Splendor Solis installation presented during the Zone Libre sound and art Festival

 

Text and Performance (selection)

 

2008-2009: Collaboration with the experimental multi media theatre group Crew on Eux and 

O-Rex: Spielart Festival, Munich, (DE); De Brakke Grond, Amsterdam and 

Rotterdamse Schouwburg, Rotterdam, (NL), La Chartreuse, Avignon, (FR); Vooruit 

arts centre, Ghent and Kortrijk, (BE); Theater am Gessner Allee, Zürich, (CH) 

Kaaitheater, Brussels, (BE); Exodos Festival, Ljubljana, (Sl); Campo for the Gentse 

Feesten, Ghent and VIA festival, Mons, (BE); Bordeaux, (FR); Théatre de la Cité, 

Paris, (FR)

Creation of Kirkjubaejarklaustur voice performance based on a book by Vincent 

Tholomé, together with Vincent Tholomé and Sebastien Dicenaire at Centre 

Pompidou, Paris, France for the Bruits de Bouche festival.

2010: Various performances in collaboration with Angela Rawlings: Logos, Ghent; Espace 

Senghor, Brussels (BE); Perdu, Amserdam (NL);Berlin Poetry festival (DE); Venue, 

Reykjavík (IS)

2011: Various performances in collaboration with Angela Rawlings: Kelly Writers house, 

Philadelphia; Poets House, New York (USA)

Solo performances at the Stanza Poetry Festival, St. Andrews, Scotland; Perdu, 

Amsterdam; Color Outside the Lines Festival in Brighton, (UK)

Co-organisation of the 7th International Krikri Festival, Ghent, (BE)

2013: Performance in Paris (Est-ce une bête qui t’annime au centre) and Marseille (ActOral) with Vincent Tholomé

2014: Duo performance with Angela Rawlings at the Tectonics festival in Reykjavík, Iceland

2015: Performance of ‘The Waves Wash over the Signal of the Incoming Train’ with pianist 

Nathalie Alessi, at the Bogliasco Foundation, Liguria, Italy.

Directing West Side Story for OdeGand, Festival of Flanders Ghent.

Première ‘Ali Baba’ in Concertgebouw Brugge and De Singel in Antwerp with Symfonie Orkest Vlaanderen.

2016:  Ongoing daily project, LUNALIA , each month in collaboration with an other artist: Vincent Tholomé, Sharon Gal, Jörg Piringer, Tomomi Adachi, Amanda Stewart Simon  Pomery,Xavier Dubois, Kinga Toth…

Concert at Beursschouwburg in Brussels and De Player in Rotterdam, music by Ben Vida, organised by Kraak.

Performance with Tomomi Adachi at Spektrum in Berlin.

Performance at the Österreichisches Kulturforum ‘Kakania’ in Berlin.

Performance at The Wellcome Gallery for the exhibition ‘The Sound of Consciousness’.

Singing ‘Kafka Fragmente’, by György Kurtág, with violinist Vladislav Pesin, in Moscow State Philharmonic, Chamber Hall, for the V International Actual Music 

Festival “Another Space”.

2017: Performance with Phil Maggi and Xavier Dubois an the Labelnight of SubRosa records, Brussels, Belgium.

Performance at Metamorph – Bucharest International Poetry Festival

Performance with Soplarte on the glass instruments for Musikfestspiele Potsdam, Sans Souci, Germany.

Residency – RHIZOME – Québec, Canada with Vincent Tholomé for the project 

Brève Rencontre – Maison de Littérature de Québec

2018: Performance with Völva – duo with Angela Rawlings in the LUNALIA festival, Mechelen, Belgium

Performance at Poem Brut, International Poetry Library, Southbank Centre, London

Performance at Illuminations, Thomas Bernhard, Austrian Culture Forum, London

Performance with Song of [Y] at the fermenting feminism gatehring – in the Medical Museum, Copenhagen.

2019: Sounding Paths residency – Syros Sound Meetings – creation of Petrichor

Performance and publication for Transcultures Media Arts Centre, La Louvière Belgium

Performances for European Poetry Festival in Norway,

2020: Creation of multimedia Sound and movement piece by Ine Claes Asfaraswecantell,  Walpurgis, Belgium, and C-Mine Genk.

Performance and creation of new sound piece SCH for Rhizome – Québec Canada, 

De Warande Storm op komst Festival , creation of audio visual piece SCH 

2021:  Collaboration with Philip Franck aka ParadiseNow performances in Le Delta, Namur and for Ars Musica in Louvain la Neuve.

Méditations – videowork for Guy Vandromme and Eva-Maria Houben

2022: E.P.I.C collaboration with Düsseldorf based artist collective and platform Rotterdam Presenta.

Performance at Twisted Schout#2 text/sound festival, Stockholm Sweden

Performance at Silence/Timemonochromes – City Festival Mechelen Belgium

Sleep concert Ninna Nanna for babies with Guy Vandromme in Gc in Wemmel Belgium.

2023: Sleep concert Ninna Nanna for babies with Guy Vandromme and Silas Bieri in Malmö

Solo vocal Performance for OMFI at Chapelle du Grand Hospice in  Brussels

‘Parastichous’ a performance for Planatarium in collaboration with students From Aalto University (Eerika Jalasaho, Pietu Arvola) at Primavista poetry festival in  Tartu (Estonia) – a European project. 

Performance, voice and video of Timemonochromes with Guy Vandromme  at CheLA Buenos Aires (Argentina)

2024: VOX tank, a solo vocal performance at the museum of Bastia (Corsica) during the Zone Libre Sound and Art Festival

Duo performance – Travelling Souls with Philippe Franck at Espace Alb Oru (Corsica) during the Zone Libre Sound Art Festival

Theater and Opera (selection)

2008/2009: Concept, direction and text adaptation of Mozarts Bastien and Bastienne for the summer opera festival of Alden Biezen, and Odegand, Festival of Flanders, Ghent,

2010: Hänsel und Gretel, opera by Humperdinck, dutch translation and direction at the Summer opera festival of Alden Biesen, (BE)

Rikadla, music theatre production based on the piece by Janacek, creation at Turnout and Festival of Flanders Ghent, (BE)

Two Street opera’s by Frank Nuyts and Boudewijn Buckinx, Festival of Flanders Ghent, Mira Miro Festival (Leuven, Ghent) (BE)

2011/2012: Als de klok dúmdi rumdi dú tikt’ piece based on Wohltemperierte Klavier by JS Bach, première at Concertgebouw Brugge followed by belgian tour.

2013: Co-directing and composing the score for an experimental poetic film based on the book Cavalcade by Vincent Tholomé, filmshoot in Iceland

2014: Directed Hans og Greta (Hänsel und Gretel by Humperdinck in Icelandic translation) for the Öp-Hópurinn group in Iceland, a rerun is planned for may 2015.

Directed ‘Ontdek me, Alies’ for the Symphonic Orchestra Flanders, played in december at De Singel, Antwerpen, and Concertgebouw Brugge.

2015:  Directed Bernsteins West Side Story for Odegand, opening day of the Festival of Flanders Ghent, with choreography by Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui

Created and directed Ali Babba, a family concert for the Symphony orchestra of Flanders

2016:  Created and directed Werewolves, a family concert for the Symphony orchestra of Flanders

2017: Co-directed a new work of socio-cultural theatre ‘The four Seasons’ with patients from the psychiatric institution, Het Heilig Hart, in Ieper (Belgium)

2018: Direction of Gezi Park, an interactive concert, music by Fazil Say, with the OPRL orchestra, at Bozar, Brussels, Belgium

Direction of the opening concert of the LUNALIA festival in Mechelen – a concert in the shape of a mooncycle

2019: Creation of  Flower hears the bee – an interactive opera for the smallest ones, de Stilte, Breda

2021: U Ki Yo E – a visual and auditory journey through a woodblock print, in collaboration with the Logos Robot orchestra (multiple theatres in Belgium)

2022: Enoch Arden by Richard Strauss – Visual and sound creation for Act2 – performances in Festival of Flanders Mechelen, Opéra Nationale de Genève, Gc de Kam Belgium