Studio Loos

Info

Hot spot for new music in The Hague - a workspace, laboratory and public presentation place for research, experimentation, development and innovation.

Geschiedenis

Studio LOOS is the hot spot for new music in The Hague (NL). It is a workspace, laboratory and public presentation space for research, experimentation, development, innovation and the production of interdisciplinary electro acoustic music, sound and audio art, improvisation and composition, monomedia, bimedia, polymedia and hypermedia. It is also an environment where the LOOS Foundation provides artists and groups in the field of interdisciplinary new music with a place to execute research, somewhere they can apply for a residence rehearse, experiment and present their latest works to the public.

At Studio LOOS artists curate concert series with performances, lectures and presentations with a choice of local and international artists and researchers. It functions as a meeting place where artists and specialists from different generations, countries, nationalities and disciplines exchange ideas, experiences, skills and knowledge and meet the general public.

Studio LOOS as a physical space was founded in 2005 as part of the LOOS Foundation. It has been further developed since. LOOS was set up in 1982 under the leadership of composer/improviser/interpreter/multi-instrumentalist Peter J.A. van Bergen, who is still the director of the foundation.

The activities of LOOS are very difficult to place in a specific category or genre. LOOS represents a musical idiom, a musical vision and a relationship between music and society. Additionally, one of the most important characteristics of LOOS is its function in generating music (and music-related material) both as experience and experiment in form and content.

Since the late 1980's, LOOS has initiated, generated and developed an extensive and impressive repertoire of contemporary music. By incorporating modern technology (live electronics, computers and different media) into the specific musical aesthetics that LOOS stands for and through the close collaboration with composers, improvisers, actors, choreographers and visual artists, LOOS has developed into one of the most prominent international artistic avant-garde platforms of today. Essential for LOOS are originality, authenticity, progressiveness, a high standard in performance and ideas and an adventurous and experimenting mentality and attitude.

In 1985 LOOS was awarded with the Ooyevaer Prize of the City of The Hague and in 2000, with the prestigious GeNeCoPrize 2000 (Dutch Composers Prize) for " exceptional merits in Contemporary Music of The Netherlands".

The activities of LOOS have been funded from 1997- 2008 with structural subsidies by the Dutch Ministry of O.C.&W.(Education, Culture and Science), and since 2005 (until 2012) is being structurally subsidised by The City of The Hague. LOOS currently also receives a two year subsidy from the Dutch National Fund for Performing Arts (FPK) for research on IOM – Interactive Interdisciplinary Improvising Orchestral Machine.

The "docARTES +" series.
Since 2010 Studio LOOS organizes the “docARTES +“ series. A series of residencies, events, performances and concerts extended with lectures and theoretical clarifications. In the series artist-researchers (students & professors) which are connected to a doctoral program, present their researches, experiments and latest findings. The title of the series is coming from the docARTES program related to the Royal Conservatory The Hague, Leiden University and the Orpheus Institute in Ghent/Belgium. LOOS intends in this way to stimulate and present new high level practical and theoretical developments in the arts and to inform the general public about them.
The "docARTES+ series is curated by Peter van Bergen: [email protected]

Ephémère is a new series of surprising evenings about temporary and contemporary forms of art.
It’s one of the last and finest places for what is important to be presented at that specific moment.
Ephémère takes place at Studio Loos every second Thursday of the month. The series is supported by Loos Foundation and curated by Marie Guilleray. It works as a platform for artists, where the audience can experience art works and performances in a different way than the traditional venues and concert halls. Ephémère aims at supporting the experimental music scene in general, adding diversity in the music scene of The Hague, giving to young artists the opportunity to present their works in good conditions and making a high quality art accessible to everybody.

WONDERWERP is a monthly series to present projects live. Whether they involve new music, electronic, acoustic, improvised, inter/multy- disciplinary, experimental, in progress, etc., works are always created by the performers.
wonderwerp started in December 2008 taking place in Regentenkamer (Dena Haag) and moved to Studio Loos in April 2009. Is curated by Yolanda Uriz: [email protected]
We find important that the contemporary art scene is alive, and for that the involvement of audience, artists and places is absolutely necessary. wonderwerp is our contribution.