our lectures and course instructors
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TINA-MARIA FEYRER is an internationally recognized director and avant-garde filmmaker. She lives and works in Vienna and Trieste. Her creative work is characterized by innovative thinking and visionary expression. Her unique aesthetic signature features a distinctive, atmospheric visual language. In rapid cuts, slow motion, and meticulously arranged dreamlike tableaux, individual psychological content merges with archetypal images from the collective unconscious. The images, dreamlike, ambivalent, and disturbing, confront us with the darker side of existence. In Feyrer’s works, light sometimes loses its traditional connotation, where it is meant to help us perceive the world. In Feyrer’s films, we recognize the world when we enter the darkness. For her, art is a non-rational, sensual form of knowledge. Central to her creative process is the act of creation itself, which is always a risk that requires courage and often a degree of harshness towards oneself.
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PHILIPP BLIHALL has been exploring the profound themes of human transformation and healing in his artistic and scientific work for over two decades. His extensive training and experience cover art therapy, psychotherapeutic methods, bioenergetic analysis, shamanism, and Zen meditation. His approach goes far beyond the individual level, also focusing on working with and within the community to explore pathways to personal and collective restoration. His deep understanding of the human psyche and spirituality opens spaces where participants are encouraged to embark on their own inner journey, discovering transformative tools for personal development along the way.
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ANDREA STEVES is an artist and researcher whose work spans disciplines and modalities, focusing on uncovering systems of power and amplifying underrepresented voices in the fight for political, environmental, and economic justice. Trained as both an engineer and sound artist, Steves develops methods of research that integrate multiple approaches, with a particular emphasis on Deep Listening. This practice invites participants to engage more deeply with both their inner and outer worlds, fostering a greater awareness of sound, perception, and the subtle dynamics that shape our experiences. Through her multidisciplinary work, which includes sound art, performance, and experiential research, Steves creates immersive environments that encourage personal and collective transformation, while also exploring themes of power, justice, and connection.
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DANIELA ZACHERL is an accomplished actor and multidisciplinary artist whose work bridges the worlds of theater, film, and performance. Born in Vienna, she brings a dynamic presence shaped by her diverse background in acting, dance, and language. While studying Theatre, Film, and Media Studies at the University of Vienna, she discovered her passion for acting and later earned a Master of Arts in Acting from the University of Essex in London.
Zacherl specializes in exploring the role of the body in the artistic process, treating it both as a creative medium and a tool for insight. Drawing on her training in the Feldenkrais Method, she emphasizes mindful physical awareness to unlock new avenues of creative expression and to deepen the connection between body and mind. She also integrates methods from systemic constellation work into her artistic practice, using this approach to explore relational dynamics and reveal hidden patterns that inform both personal and collective storytelling. By combining these approaches, she fosters a holistic process that bridges physical, emotional, and cognitive dimensions of creation.
Her artistic journey is marked by her ability to inhabit complex roles with authenticity and depth, whether on stage, in front of the camera, or through movement. Zacherl has also been actively involved in numerous avant-garde film and theater projects, including the experimental feature film MEMORY – The Poetry of Disappearance. She has performed internationally in productions ranging from the stage adaptation of Schnitzler’s Fräulein Else to leading roles in films such as Spanish Masala and Die Migrantigen. Her multilingual proficiency and sensitivity to cultural nuance enhance her ability to connect with diverse audiences and collaborators.
Beyond her artistic accomplishments, Zacherl’s dedication to storytelling and the integration of body and mind creates a space where participants are inspired to uncover their creative potential, explore relational dynamics, and deepen their self-awareness through the artistic process.
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MICHAEL STAVARIČ born in 1972 in Brno, is an acclaimed author, translator, and editor based in Vienna, where he studied Bohemian Studies and Journalism. His diverse body of work spans poetry, novels, essays, short stories, and children’s literature, earning him numerous accolades, including the Buch.Preis (2007), the Adelbert von Chamisso Prize for Emerging Writers (2007), and the Austrian State Prize for Children’s and Young Adult Literature.
Stavarič’s writing is characterized by an experimental and playful approach to language, exploring its boundaries and possibilities as both medium and subject. His works often blend surreal, absurd, grotesque, and ironic elements, creating a distinctive literary voice. Recent publications include the novels Fremdes Licht (2020) and Das Phantom (2023), poetry collections such as Zu brechen bleibt die See (2020) and Die Suche nach dem Ende der Dunkelheit (2023), as well as children’s books like Balthasar Blutberg (2020), Faszination Krake (2021), Faszination Qualle (2023), Tierisch wilde Weihnachten (2023), and Faszination Haie (2024).
Through his innovative engagement with language and form, Stavarič invites readers into worlds where creativity and imagination intersect, challenging conventional narratives and redefining storytelling.
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GAIA GIORGIA GINEVRA is an Italian poet, sound artist, dramaturg, and performer. Born in 1992, she studied Philosophy and Performing Arts at IUAV University of Venice. Her interdisciplinary practice combines writing, sound, voice, and analog devices, creating a dynamic interplay between text and performance. Giorgi is known for her site-specific participatory works and sound stories, such as Racconto Concreto (with Demetrio Cecchitelli, 2021) and her project Oceani (2021).
Her publications include Sisifo (Alter Ego Edizioni, 2016), Manovre Segrete (Interno Poesia, 2017), Sylvia Plath. L’altare scuro del sole (Edizioni della Sera, 2019), and L’animale nella fossa (Miraggi Edizioni, 2021). She has co-curated walk so silently that the bottoms of your feet become ears (Fango Radio) and co-created RADURA (Vertical Music, 2022). Giorgi is also the founder and member of the Extragarbo and Call Monica collectives, and a resident artist at Radio Raheem (Milan).
Her creative methodologies focus on affective and political reimaginings of landscapes, blending urban and non-urban spaces through sound experiments and participatory devices. Drawing from feminist and situated perspectives, her works engage with the idea of memory as an editable, mutable substance, challenging conventional narrative structures and offering new forms of collective and anti-authorial memory.
Giorgi’s poetic style weaves together sensory experiences, using sound mappings, metaphors, and vivid imagery to explore the intersection of language, memory, and landscape. Her work is influenced by writers such as Pavese, Caproni, and Brodskij.