Saskia Boddeke: Contemporary media/ music–theatre/ installations.

Saskia Boddeke, born in Castricum, is an innovative Dutch multimedia artist and director. From 1984 Saskia worked at the Netherlands Opera as an assistant director on 48 international opera productions with directors like Dario Fo, Peter Stein and Pierre Audi. Her first collaboration with Peter Greenaway as co-director was on the making of the music theatre performance and film, ‘Rosa, a horse drama’ (1992), which was followed up 2 years later with the very successful ‘Writing to Vermeer’.

Over the last 28 years she has developed a language embracing the use of multiple screen projections, sophisticated computer programming and virtual phenomenon like Second Life. Saskia uses these techniques richly within live performance and artistic installations. Her multimedia installations and performances are shown around the world, from New York to Adelaide. Saskia’s installations are immersive experiences. She surrounds the visitors with projections, sounds, light, smells and art objects, like ‘Obedience’ in 2015 an installation in 15 rooms at the Jewish Museum of Berlin and the opera ‘Giovanna d'Arco’ in 2016 at the Teatro Farnese at the Verdi Festival of Parma. This work was nominated as ‘Best new production 2017’ by the International Opera Award.

• In 2015 Saskia was awarded with the Russian TANR award - Best exhibition of 2015 - for her multimedia installation ‘The Black Square, The Golden Age of the Russian Avant-Garde’ at the Moscow Manege exhibition hall. 

• In 2016 Saskia contributed with her installation ‘Chtchoukine, Matisse, la Danse et la Musique’ to the Icônes de l'art Moderne. La Collection Chtchoukine exhibition at de Louis Vuitton Foundation in Paris. The exhibition received over 1.2 million visitors and was after Paris successfully shown at the Art Gallery New South Wales in Sydney. For the Spoleto Festival 2017, Saskia created ‘H is for Horse’, a site specific immersive installation about the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse facing a little creature called Hope.

• In 2019 her installation: ‘Artuum Mobile’ a multimedia triple build at the Centre of Contemporary Art in Toruń, contributed to the succes of the museum receiving the award: Best museum in Poland 2019.

• Her documentary ‘The Greenaway Alphabet’ received two awards at the Tirana International Film Festival Albania (TIFF 2018): best documentary and best documentary feature, Best Documentary Award at The Master of Art Film Festival 2018, Bulgaria and The Rose D’Or best art documentary 2019.

• Saskia - alias Rose Borchovski - is also a well-known artist at Second Life where she created several art installations. The Second Life installations can be visited online at The Second Life Grid and at the Aire Mille Flux art-grid. These installations were shown at the Madrid Pavilion at the Shanghai Expo of 2010 and at The Digital Art Exhibition in Spain of 2014. The online installations: ‘The Inevitability of Fate’ and ‘Echoes in the Garden’, received more than 300.000 visitors.

• Projects currently in production: ‘Why is it hard to love’ for MO, Vilnius and the films  ‘ Vertical Movie’ (docu-drama), ‘Furia’ (docu-drama) and ‘Dear Markus’ (feature film).   

Installations/ Exhibitions 

• 2020 Why is it hard to love? MO museum, Vilnius, Lithuania

• 2019-2020 A Happy Death, a double build, at the MAV Museo Archeologico Virtuale- Ercolano

• 2019-2020 Artuum Mobile: The world of Saskia Boddeke & Peter Greenaway, a triple build consisting: ‘H is for Horse’, ‘The Greenaway Atelier’ and ‘The Alphabet’ at the Centre of Contemporary Art in Toruń. The Art centre received ‘Best Museum in Poland 2019 Award’ because of this installation.

• 2019 -2020 Message in a Bottle and Sex and The Sea, multimedia installations at the Estonian Maritime Museum.

• 2019-2020 Sex & The Sea , at the Seaplane Harbour - Meremuuseum, Estonia.

• 2018-2019 Chtchoukine, Matisse, la Danse et la Musique. Concept, design and direction. The installation is part of ‘Masters of Modern Art from the Hermitage’, Art Gallery New South Wales, Sydney.

• 2018-2019 Sex & the Sea, a multimedia installation at the Kotka Maritime Museum.

• 2017 H is for Horse, H is for Hope, a multimedia installation, Festival dei Due Mondi, Spoleto, Italy.

• 2017 Body Parts ,a multimedia installation about Peter Greenaway’s Body Part paintings, Sala Veronicas, Murcia, Spain.

• 2016 Chtchoukine, Matisse, la Danse et la Musique. Concept and design by Saskia Boddeke. Script by Peter Greenaway. This installation is part of Icônes de l'art Moderne. La Collection Chtchoukine. Louis Vuitton Foundation, Paris. October 2016 to February 2017

• 2016-2017 Sex & the Sea, at the Maritime Museum Helsingor, Denmark. Concept & design by Saskia Boddeke. Opened from September 9 till August 13 2017.In 2015 the exhibition Sex & the Sea showed at the Maritime Museum Stockholm. Concept & design by Saskia Boddeke. Opened from April 10 till April 6 2016.

• 2015 Gehorsam/Obedience, a multimedia installation concerning 'the Sacrifice of Isaac' seen from different religious view-points in 15 rooms of the Jewish Museum Berlin. Concept & Design by Saskia Boddeke.

• 2014 The Wife of a Diplomat, Margaretha Turnor, Castle Amerongen.

• 2014 The Black Square, The Golden Age of Russian Avant-Garde, a multimedia installation for the Moscow Manage, Russia. The installation has received the prestigious Tanr Price Best Exhibition 2014, the annual award of The Art Newspaper Russia.

• 2013 Sex & The Sea, Maritiem Museum Rotterdam. By Saskia Boddeke & Peter Greenaway.

• 2011 A Day in the life of a Castle, a multimedia installation containing 22 screens spread over 12 rooms at Castle Amerongen in the Netherlands. Castle Amerongen. Libretto by Peter Greenaway.

• 2005 Democracy. Performance/ Installation Athens.

• 2005 The Children of Uranium, a multimedia installation with live actors and film; The Museum of Modern Art at Genoa and The New Media Museum at Naples.

• 2004 Wash & Travel, a multimedia installation with live performance at the Eglise Sainte-Marie Madeleine Lille, Lille Cultural Capital Festival 2004.

Opera and music theatre performances

• 2016 Giovanna d'Arco, opera at the Teatro Farnese. Opening performance of the Verdi Festival at Parma.The opera was nominated as best new production by the International Opera Awards 2017.

• 2010 The Big Bang, the inauguration show of the Copernicus Museum of Science in Warsaw, consisting of a projection-show on the exterior of the museum with life performance of music and dance including group participation of 250 Warsaw inhabitants.

• 2008-2015 The Blue Planet, directed by Saskia Boddeke music by Goran Bregovic, libretto Peter Greenaway and Saskia Boddeke. The Production was originally created as the closure performance of the expo in Spain at Zaragoza. The production travelled around Europe and China.

• 2008 Rembrandt’s Spiegel, a multimedia music performance, directed by Saskia Boddeke, music by Vincent van Warmerdam and libretto by Peter Greenaway (Productiehuis Rotterdam. Toured around the Netherlands and to Budapest.

• 2005 The Falls, an installation-music theatre with the students of AERTEZ, directed by Saskia Boddeke, music inspired by David Lang, from the collection of short biographies from The Falls by Peter Greenaway at the Broerenkerk Zwolle.

• 2005 M is for Medicine 2, directed by Saskia Boddeke. A multimedia performance at VU medical Center Amsterdam.

• 2003 Die Zauberflöte, Mozart, in co-direction with Pierre Audi, Salzburger Festspiele, Salzburg.

• 2001 Gold, 92 Bars in a Crashed Car, directed by Saskia Boddeke, music by Borut Krisnik, libretto by Peter Greenaway at Schauspiel Frankfurt

• 2000 Writing To Vermeer, directed by Saskia Boddeke, music by Louis Andriessen, libretto by Peter Greenaway. Premiered at the DNO in Amsterdam. Travelled to Adelaide Festival in Australia and New York Lincoln Festival, the production was revived at the Amsterdam Muziektheater in 2003.

• 2000 La Gazzetta, directed by Saskia Boddeke, music by Rossini at the Summerborn Opera Festival, Zwolle.

• 1998 Christophe Colomb, directed by Saskia Boddeke, music by Darius Milhaud, libretto by Peter Greenaway. Deutsche Staatsoper Berlin

• 1997 & 1999 100 Objects to represent the World, premiered at the Salzburger Zeitfluss Festival. The show toured around Europe and South America. Directey by Saskia Boddeke music by Jean-Baptiste Barriere, libretto by Peter Greenaway.

• 1995 Vleugellam, Stadsschouwburg Amsterdam.

• 1995 De Wolven van Charkof, Amsterdam.

• 1994 & 1996 The Death of a Composer - Rosa, a Horse Drama, DNO Amsterdam. Directed by Saskia Boddeke, music by Louis Andriessen, libretto by Peter Greenaway.

• 1993 Turn of The Tide, Stadsschouwburg Amsterdam.

• 1992 Vals Akkoord, Stadsschouwburg Amsterdam.

FILMS and documentary

• 2022 Inside my Heart - Het zit in mijn Hart , Documentary. Inside my Heart received award: Special Mention Best Dutch Documentary at IDFA 2022

• 2018 Giovanna d’Arco, an artistic registration of the opera performance at Farnese Theatre, premiered on October 2nd 2016. 130 min.

• 2018 The Greenaway Alphabet, Documentary, 68 mins. The documentary received two awards at the Tirana International Film Festival Albania (TIFF 2018): best documentary and best documentary feature, Best Documentary Award at The Master of Art Film Festival 2018, Bulgaria and The Rose D’Or best art . documentary 2019.

• 2017 Down the Volga, Documentary, A River Movie

• 2015 The Sex & the Sea film, part of the travelling Blue Angel Project Performance of Big Hart in Australia

• 1996 Rosa, a Horse drama, direction Saskia Boddeke & Peter Greenaway, music by Louis Andriessen

Animation/Artworks Second Life

• 2015: Echoes in The Garden.

• 2014: The Arrival.

• 2013: The Inevitability of Fate.

• 2013: The Dance of Death A Susa Bubble animation for an installation by Peter Greenaway at Basle. Totentanz.

•  2012: Memories.

• 2012: Lost in Counting.

• 2011: Fear of Falling.

• : Maybe it is better there is only one of me! 

• 2008 - 2020: The Susa Bubble story.       

  These immersive multimedia installations: The Story of Susa Bubble, The Inevitability of Fate, The Arrival and Echoes in the Garden installations were shown at the Madrid Pavilion in the Shanghai Expo 2012 and in The Digital Art Exhibition in Spain 2014. They can be visited online at The Second Life grid and at the Aire Mille Flux art-grid.

VJ show:

• 2007: ‘The Survivor of Warsaw’ by Arnold Schönberg, with Zubin Mehta and Charlotte Rampling at the Florence Opera House. A triple screen live projection show featuring the survivors of the Warsaw Ghetto.