BIRKE VAN MAARTENS

Always following an interdisciplinary approach, I have been engaged with music from my early childhood on, studied classical violin and sound composition, and then arts and design at the ABKM Academy of Fine Arts Maastricht, at the Dutch State University Hogeschool ZUYD. I later completed the Program Dance Pedagogical Competence at the educational institution SENECA Intensiv in Berlin and attended the Danceworks Academy for Contemporary Dance Berlin, Germany, where I broadened my knowledge in contemporary and modern dance during a three-year course of study. From there on I continued my studies in dance and choreography at SEAD - Salzburg Experimental Academy of Dance.
​
In 2021 I created "AI FOREST" an immersive installation/ narrative space in collaboration with LIT - Linz Institute of Technology and Sound-Artist Kenji Tanaka for ARS Electronica Festival 2021 during a residency at the LIT Robopsychology Lab at Johannes Keppler University Linz, Austria. The project was funded by the State of Upper Austria and the Austrian Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research via the LIT – Linz Institute of Technology 

In 2022 I have been an artist in residence at the choreographic center SQfarm fallbach art research movement, as part of the program "emerging choreographic talents 2022". The program was supported by the NATIONAL PERFORMANCE NETWORK - STEPPING OUT, funded by the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media. 
 
Besides being a passionate artist, I am a writer for numerous magazines on arts, politics, and social matters as well as an author (Latest publication: The Hardcover Book "30 Years Of Dance – SEAD A Retrospective" was published and printed in Germany in 2023 by SQ/farm Publishing).