Sylvia Hinz has been a part of the What if? community from the very beginning. In the spring of 2014 she answered our question, who are you this spring? She also made contributions to our calls for entries, one of which you can listen to here:

I interviewed Sylvia recently about her approach to art and identity.

Clio: What aspects of your own personal identity do you see reflected in your artistic work?

Sylvia: There are many aspects! I am a classically trained musician, specialised in contemporary music and improvisation. I’m a recorder player, conductor, curator, bass player in a death/math/progressive metal band, private lecturer, ensemble leader, founder of WOMEN CREATORS and co-founder of ArtEquality.

The sounds that i create are inspired by my surroundings – present, or, in this case of my album “Windserie,” the past. “Windserie” describes my preoccupation with the topic of wind and breath, something that fascinated me all my life. I grew up near the coast and always loved the sounds of wind and storm. I started to play the recorder at the age of 7 and have focused on breath, including breathing sounds and wind noises, ever since then.

 

So tell me more about running WOMEN CREATORS and ArtEquality. How do you see this fitting into your overall ethos and practice?

As a feminist, curating works written by women composers is obligatory. the world needs so see us, hear us, read us – hence the group WOMEN CREATORS. My organisation ArtEquality is based upon empowerment. we want to support those in need through art and establish equality everywhere and in every possible aspect.

Sylvia’s work spans such a multitude of genres and classifications that it is difficult to pin her down and categorize her in a very specific way. However, I’d like to share a personal experience working with Sylvia. Long before I joined the What if? team, Sylvia asked me to compose a piece of music for her, which I did in graphical notation. Her willingness to work with so many of the new forms music can take continually surprises and amazes me. You can have a listen to our collab, Birds, below.

Featured image: Sylvia’s submission to our Powerful Woman call for entries, in which she sent us a striking depiction of herself with her instrument. Image by Jeanne Strieder.