Artist / Director

In her artistic career, Scharmien Zandi works with a variety of didactics & methods, performers & ensembles, houses & places to create plays & shows. (radio play, theater, music, operaand video).

Her first attempt at directing was the short film DAS PUPPENHAUS, in which she dealt with racism and society, wrote the script and produced the film in 2013 together with N-TOWN Production. In 2014 she create a new ensemble of actresses/actors and performing artists to stage the double piece by the american playwriter James McLure 1959 PINK THUNDERBIRD in english.

After this experience, she wrote again her own plays and libretti for theater and music theater productions, where she deals with contemporary social issues. Her scenic plays and interpretations are based on two axes: body & voice / space & dynamics. She also creates audio and video installations for exhibitions and stage sets.

In 2017 she received an invitation from the Beijing Cultural Forum as an artist in residence for music and performing arts. She presented TAIKONAUT LILLI, a performance for an art festival at the 798 Art Zone. Working with the Vienna Boy‘ s Choir and their director Gerald Wirth, Scharmien Zandi led choirs in Beijing and Tianjin. In addition, she works together with the Peking University (Beida) for the first act of her contemporary opera DIONE.

After China, she continued to work on the opera, presented the second act of DIONE in Vienna and was therefore invited to the ANGEWANDTE – university of applied arts for a guest lecture. In May 2020, the opera will be presented in New York at the Austrian Cultural Forum (ACFNY).

In 2020 Zandi won the Austrian Music Theater Award for her Avantgarde Chanson Show AMOUR FOU in the Category BEST OFF THEATER PRODUCTION.

With her art project MY NAME IS ART NOT INNOVATION she enters into a cooperation with artist & musician Bill Drummond (The KLF), where she turns the NO MUSIC DAY 2020 introduced by Drummond into a holiday of the new culture aera.

Scharmien Zandi wrote ( w ) and/or directed (d) the play/project.

2020 MY NAME IS ART NOT INNOVATION by S. Zandi
actionart on actionday NO MUSIC DAY in cooperation with Bill Drummond

2020 BORDERLINE - DIONE by S.Zandi / (w/d)
operaperformance with Sopran, Performing Arts and a Band, Vienna 

2020 COCALINE - DIONE by S.Zandi / (w/d)
video installation STATE OF MATTER for the ACFNY, New York City

2020 THE WHOLE IN PARTS exhibition by Je Schumi / (d)
soundinterpretation at Kunstraum am Schausplatz, Vienna

2019 SALOME by S.Zandi / (w/d)
performance at Ship Without Sea Gallery Barbara Anna Husare, Vienna

2019 STATE OF MATTER by S.Zandi / (d)
videoinstallation, release 2020 New York City

2019 SABOTAGE by S.Zandi / (d)
action-art Harvard GSD, Cambridge

2018 HEADLINE - DIONE by S.Zandi / (d)
with Ali Sarey Alsweedi, Antonia-Alexa Georgiew, Eszter Hollósi , Timothy Luger, Sarah Scherer, Maximilian Spielmann, 

2018 AMOUR FOU by S.Zandi / (w/d)
audio installation (Bachmann & Celan) at Red Gate Gallery, 789 Art District Beijing, Award Winner - Austrian Musictheater Prize Best Off Production

2018 HOREN by S.Zandi / (d)
video installation, Kunsttankstelle Ottakring

2017 REDLINE - DIONE by S.Zandi / (w/d)
with Raimund Rosarius, Niko de La Faye, Dong Qi, Ni Zixuan, Zhang Chu Xuan, Liu Qian Yu, Zhang Haoying, Rao Kezhan, Fang Zhongxin, Yang Siting, Cie Tianping, Liu Yuwei, Zou Xu, Zhang Weilin,Qian Ruixin, Lin yu Quing

2017 TAIKONAUT LILLI by S.Zandi / (w/d)
interactive performance, 798 Art District Beijing

2016 MASSAKER.LIEBE.  by S. Zandi /  (w/d)
interactive performance, WUK Vienna

2016 1/4life crISIS by S. Zandi / (d)
exhibtion, mo.E Vienna

2015 LA BORRACHITA directed by Ana Drezga / ( w )
with Manuel Prammer, Scharmien Zandi

2014 MARIA, LA ABEJITA by S.Zandi / (w/d)
with Lukas Heuberger, Irina Kachapova, Katharina Mazakidis, Sarah Scherer, Felix Tröbinger, Robert Stuc, Edin Sudar

2014 1959 PINK THUNDERBIRD by James McLure / (d)
with Alina Bachmayr-Heyda, Arthur Cole, Ben Marecek,Daphne Reitinger, Giamo Röwekamp, Nicola Ségur

2013 DAS PUPPENHAUS by S. Zandi / (w/d)
with Josef Hilber, Sophie Huber, Erik Willerstorfer, Marie Wohlmuth