As a director and creative leader of artistic teams, she shapes art across diverse disciplines. Scharmien Zandi has collaborated with a wide range of performers, ensembles, institutions, and venues, creating works across theatre, music, opera, video, radio plays, and digital/media art. Her work is grounded in a practice-based artistic approach that explores new forms of transdisciplinary storytelling and embodied performance.
She dedicated several years to the intensive practice and exploration of Opernperformance. In addition to classical staging traditions, she developed new formats of mediation that merge into a total artwork and are understood as contemporary music theatre.
As president of the iAKW –internationale Akademie der Künste Wien and co-founder of the artist collective D#AVANTGARDE, she develops new formats, perspectives, and interpretations of the present and future together with like-minded collaborators.
Through her funKI projects, she investigates the artistic potential of artificial intelligence—particularly in the field of music—through performances, workshops, and hybrid formats at the intersection of art, technology, and creativity.
2025 Ton3 Interdisziplinäre Kunstausstellung / Ministry of Artists
2025 Piepmatz Macht Wald Aus Euch / Solektiv St. Pölten
2025 Muse Factory Performance with Music and AI / Parlais Niederösterreich
2024 Ankommen - Eine Spiel-Opern-Performance zu Identität & Integrität by Daniela Oberraucher & Scharmien Zandi Kammerlichtspiele Innbruck
2024 funKI - Performances & Workshops about AI & AI Music
2024 Der StöhnChor - AI-generated voices combined into a moaning choir using Vocalise technology
2023 SuperZero, Baby! Eine Opernperformance zu Wert & Wertigkeit by S.Zandi Musiktheater an der Wien Kammeroper Wien, UA 12. April 2023, Austria
2022 Startstipendium for Music & Performing Arts, Ministry of Arts and Culture Austria - AI Music, IR Music by Hofstetter Kurt, Opernperformance 2021 Silent.Opera by S.Zandi & S.Myselle, powered by D#Avantgarde Premiere at Republic of Užupis, Lithuania and Lunas Dream Vienna, Austria 2020 VULVA by Dr. Mithu S. Sanyal - an audio cultural science book, powered by iAKW , Planet 9 2020 MY NAME IS ART NOT INNOVATION by S. Zandi performance on actionday NO MUSIC DAY in cooperation with Bill Drummond 2020 BORDERLINE 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 Husar, 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 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 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) operaperformance with Lukas Heuberger, Irina Kachapova, Katharina Mazakidis, Sarah Scherer, Felix Tröbinger, Robert Stuc, Edin Sudar 2014 1959 PINK THUNDERBIRD by James McLure / (d) thaeter with Alina Bachmayr-Heyda, Arthur Cole, Ben Marecek,Daphne Reitinger, Giamo Röwekamp, Nicola Ségur 2013 DAS PUPPENHAUS by S. Zandi / (w/d) shortmovie with Josef Hilber, Sophie Huber, Erik Willerstorfer, Marie Wohlmuth
My first attempt at directing was the short film DAS PUPPENHAUS, in which I dealt with racism and society, wrote the script and produced the film in 2013 together with N-TOWN Production. In 2014 I 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, I wrote again my own plays and libretti for theater and music theater productions, where I deal with contemporary social issues and artistic visions. My scenic plays and interpretations are based on two axes: body & voice / space & dynamics. I also creates audio and video installations for exhibitions and stage sets.
In 2017 I received an invitation from the Beijing Cultural Forum as an artist in residence for music and performing arts. I 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, I led choirs in Beijing and Tianjin. In addition, I work together with the Peking University (Beida) for the first act of the contemporary opera DIONE.
After China, I continued to work on the form operaperformance, 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 I won the Austrian Music Theater Award for my Avantgarde Chanson Show AMOUR FOU in the Category BEST OFF THEATER PRODUCTION.
With my art project MY NAME IS ART NOT INNOVATION I enters into a cooperation with artist & musician Bill Drummond (The KLF), where I turn the NO MUSIC DAY 2020 introduced by Drummond into a holiday of the new culture aera.
Since 2021 I am co-founder of D#AVANTGARDE – a digital art community with the attempt to inform, educate, explore and play with the new technology and to digital humanity.
I got the Startstipendium for Music und Performance Art from the state of Austria in 2022, where I started to deal with computer-based and computer-generated composing. Among other things with artificial intelligence but also the supersymmetric composition technique of Hofstetter Kurt, as well as the further development of my form, the ‚opera performance‘.
After a long tradition of amazing emerging artists at one of Vienna’s most prestigious opera houses, I get to create SuperZero, Baby! Eine Opernperformance zu Wert und Wertigkeit to the famous Musiktheater an der Wien. Next Opernperformance will held at the Tiroler Landestheater Premiere 27.06.2024
Scharmien Zandi 