Join us for a public presentation and discussion of artistic research by Viktoria Nikolova at Studio LOOS!

Sewing Grounds is an interdisciplinary project that explores the interplay between memory, displacement, and sound through the medium of a transformed sewing machine. This performance seeks to capture and translate the folklore music and stories of Scandinavia, Bulgaria, and England, reflecting the physical and emotional landscapes shaped by war and environmental disasters. By sewing a fabric map infused with field recordings and vocal elements, we evoke the lived experiences of displaced communities, connecting their pasts to the present.

The project emphasizes the intimate relationship between everyday objects and cultural rituals, merging domestic practices with sacred acts. Through the act of sewing, we map the sonic landscapes of migration, revealing how the pressures of history are stitched into the fabric of our identities. The incorporation of conductive materials allows for a dynamic auditory experience, amplifying the needle's impact and the fabric's response.

Viktoria Nikolova in colaboration with musicians Phoebe Kirrage and Julie Hasfjord, cellist Leah Plave, and technical support for instrument development, invite the audience into a shared space of reflection and resonance. This ongoing exploration aims to honor and transmit the memories of those who have experienced displacement, weaving together threads of history, culture, and sound.

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about the artists

Viktoria Nikolova

Viktoria Nikolova is a singer, performer, and curator from Sofia, Bulgaria, based in the Netherlands. She earned a Master’s in Classical Singing from the Royal Conservatory in The Hague, specializing in Bulgarian folklore singing. Viktoria collaborates with various composers and ensembles, working with varied vocal styles and improvisation. Currently, she is pursuing a degree in Cultural Sciences at Leiden University and serves as co-president of Kunstgang Commission gallery space.

Her 2019 performance "Metamorphosis of a Female Character" won the Themaprijs and Oorkaanprijs at Grachtenfestival. She has participated in festivals such as Opera Forward, Westben, and Plop, and was part of NKK NXT's 2019/20 internship. Viktoria's work explores artistic mediation, the intersection of memory, physical spaces and technology, and themes of identity and migration. In 2022 she founded with Phoebe Kirrage and Julie Hasfjord the vocal trio Bitter Blossoms. In 2024 she completed the One-Year Course at the Institute of Sonology.

Phoebe Kirrage

Phoebe Kirrage, originally from Newark, Nottinghamshire, began her musical journey at Lincoln Cathedral. She later studied at Wells Cathedral School under Nigel Perrin and earned her BMus(Hons) from Royal Holloway, University of London, where she held a choral scholarship. With this choir, she performed at iconic venues such as The Royal Albert Hall, Buckingham Palace, and toured across Europe, North America, and Canada.

After graduating from the Royal Conservatoire of The Hague in 2020, Phoebe embarked on a career as a soloist and ensemble singer, working with ensembles like Nederlands Kamerkoor, Holland Opera, and Nederlands Reisopera. She was also a participant in NKK NXT and performed at prestigious events such as the Koningsnacht Concert 2023. Phoebe recently completed a 90-performance tour with Wende Snijders’ production De Wildernis and now serves as the soprano and orchestra manager for The London Film Music Orchestra, continuing to challenge herself musically.

Julie Hasfjord

Julie Hasfjord is a versatile Norwegian singer, performing across classical, pop, folk, and electronic genres. She enjoys collaborating on new music and artwork and has appeared at festivals such as Opera Forward, SNAAR, Olavsfest, and K&M Fest. Julie was part of NKK NXT, which led to the creation of IMMIX Vocal Ensemble and their critically acclaimed performance, BLOOM. IMMIX has performed at several festivals, including Boulevard, and collaborated with the Netherlands Chamber Choir and Wende Snijders on her show De Wildernis.

In addition to her work with IMMIX, Julie sings with professional vocal ensembles, including The Netherlands Chamber Choir, Trondheim Vocal Ensemble and Nidaros Vokal. She also formed the vocal trio Bitter Blossoms, together with Viktoria Nikolova and Phoebe Kirrage, which recently released its first single and EP. Julie holds a master’s degree from the Royal Conservatoire in The Hague, and a bachelor degree from the University of Stavanger, Norway.

Leah Plave

Leah Plave extends herself beyond the traditional role of a cellist, performing not only classical repertoire but electronic, improvisational, non-western, and historical music. An outspoken advocate for inclusive programming and undiscovered voices, she often collaborates with living composers and enjoys interdisciplinary, cross-cultural projects. By the age of 24, she was a four-time immigrant having lived and toured extensively across North America, China, and Europe.

Based in The Netherlands since 2020, Leah is a member of many chamber ensembles, performing in spaces ranging from posh concert halls to sticky bars and candle lit living rooms. In collaboration with Tiziano Teodori, demand for their genre- bending cello and electronics repertoire is high at festivals and concert venues across Europe. In addition, Leah’s extensive experience as a chamber musician has included performances with ensembles such as London Film Orchestra, Ensemble Nova Sonantia, Z4 Piano Quartet, Lincoln Center Stage piano quintet, Vratsa Symphony Orchestra (BG), Theresia Orchestra (IT), Jeune Orchestre Rameau (FR), and Vermont Symphony Orchestra (USA).

On 6 September, After Hours kicks off big with LOOS, an innovative performers' lab that uses both conventional instruments and state-of-the-art technology

Using sound art as a starting point, LOOS founder and director Dr. Peter van Bergen put together a programme bringing together established makers, young talent and pioneers from the past. With performances by Gilius van Bergeijk, Huib Emmer, and Baidar Al-Basri, among others, installations by Johan van Kreij and Emi Martin, a film by Isabella and Sarah Wentink, and finally a crossover with hip-hop: "QUARTET II invites PINK OCULUS". And all this between sculptures by Sarah Lucas, Steve McQueen and Ai Weiwei, among others, from the exhibition If not now, when?

Museum Beelden aan Zee brings a breath of fresh air to the new cultural season with After Hours, which kicks off on Friday 6 September. This innovative evening programme introduces sculpture to new audiences by partnering with organisations from different art disciplines in The Hague. The new programming, made possible by the Friends Lottery, serves as a catalyst for up-and-coming talent from The Hague.

Different senses will be stimulated, including sound art, theatre, foodscapes, modern dance, R&B and light art among the sculptures. The first three nights of After Hours will be provided by: LOOS (6 September), Orisun Studio (4 October) and The Grey Space in the Middle (1 November).

evening program

Installations

Performances

Spatiofoon - Sound Art Objects by Johan van Kreij

The sound installation Spatiofoon is created from a network of small electronic objects that produce sounding patterns and thus articulate spatial properties in a musical sense. Spatiofoon is inspired by the ideofoon series created by Dick Raaijmakers.

“Victor Wentink: Life” - A research on our father’s work by Sarah & Isabella Wentink

In 2023 we started researching the various works of our father: avant-garde artist, composer, philosopher, writer, poet, engineer and inventor of the first social network in the world Victor Wentink. We wanted to research the social implications and crucial intersections of his work that cross boundaries and illuminate new ways of seeing technology/society.

As a philosopher & engineer we adhere to our father’s vision of ARTEC, the idea that an integral relationship has always existed between art and technology. This is what we tried to decipher in our documentary: how, from an ontological perspective, his work illuminates new horizons of understanding, new compositions and technology which help us grasp the complexity of our daily digital lives. How can we make sense, from a philosophical position, of his vast work that is at the brink of a new age of social networks. Not from a commercial perspective, but from an existential one that helps us take back, politically, our rights and humanity online. His work is both existential, artistic but foremost political.

for siblings (tempered) by Lucie Nezri (composer, piano) and Nirantar Yukthumba (zither)

for siblings (tempered) is a piece for piano and/or plucked string instruments. for siblings (tempered) is the first result of a long-term research revolving around Maghrebin-Andalusian classical music. One aim of this research was to loosely integrate tuning systems, modes, as well as melodic and rhythmic patterns of Maghrebin-Andalusian music into my compositions. Lucie’s standpoint stems from a deeply personal yet rootless and rather abstract perspective. As a result, the composition for siblings (tempered) ended up being both tied to yet distant from its original source of inspiration.

Electronic Resonances in the Accoustic Voice by Marie Guilleray

Can electronic manipulations and machines influence works for the acoustic voice?

This is what Marie shall attempt to demonstrate by presenting three short pieces of contemporary music for solo voice:

• Sequenza III by Luciano Berio (1965)

• Recitations 11 by Georges Aperghis (1977-1978)

• Analysis 78-3 by Greta Monach (1978)

Misery Beach by Huib Emmer

Misery Beach is an electronic live performance. There are two groups of speakers in the hall, from group 1 you mainly hear pulses and beats, from group 2 strange thin sounds with surrealistic objects.

During the performance, these elements are confronted with each other and all kinds of connections arise. The whole thing is sometimes reminiscent of Yves Tanguy's paintings.

ELEMENTS (2024) by Gilius van Bergeijk, performed by Reinier van Houdt, Gilius van Bergeijk

(4 parts: EARTH, WATER, FIRE, AIR, merge without interruption).

The four elements earth, water, fire and air were first formulated by the Greek philosopher Empedocles formulated as the basis for all existing substances. Today, they are mainly known through the work of medieval alchemists. But they also have symbolic significance: earth and fire are used in funeral rites while water and air are the main conditions for life. Life and Death, in other words.

‘QUARTET II invites PINK OCULUS’

with Pink Oculus (voice, compositions), Ike van Bergen (keys, grand piano), Aditya Sardjono (electric bass), Nadesh Ligthart (drums), Peter van Bergen (horns, electronics) Hip-Hop, R&B and Jazz concert with performances of works by Pink Oculus from her albums Delicious and Before Wisdom. Pink Oculus' music has been called “Uncompromising” and “Raw stuff of the highest artistic value” by music magazine OOR. Comparably, the music of LOOS has been described in the international press. This concert combines the outspoken compositions of Dutch singer-songwriter, rapper, producer and actress Pink Oculus with solo contributions, arrangements and interludes by a specially assembled quartet with different musical backgrounds, from hip-hop, R&B, funk, (free) jazz and contemporary classical. QUARTET II is a new 2024 project by Ike and Peter van Bergen following QUARTET I with Wilbert de Joode and Giacomo Camiletti with compositions by Andrew Hill, Pete LaRoca and Carla Bley.