Montoliu-Kostüm/Bühne

About

Belén Montoliú, born in Madrid, Spain, studied fine arts at the Complutense University of Madrid, costume design at the Berlin University of the Arts, and theatre and music management at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich.

Following her studies at the Berlin University of the Arts, she worked as a costume and set design assistant at the Staatsschauspiel Dresden and the Teatro de la Abadía in Madrid. She gained valuable experience working alongside renowned costume and set designers such as Alissa Kohlbusch, Sabine Kohlstedt, Sabine Blickenstorfer, Dietlind Konold, Katja Strohschneider, Susanne Uhl and Su Bühler, as well as esteemed directors including Armin Petras, David Marton, Wolfgang Engel, Burkhard C. Kosminski, Friederike Heller, Thomas Birkmeier, Roger Vontobel, Àlex Rigola and Carlos Aladro.

Since 2006, Belén Montoliú has been working as a freelance stage and costume designer in theatre, opera and dance for directors such as Rodrigo García, Marguerite Donlon, Marco Carniti, Karoline Gruber, Moritz Nikolaus Koch, Amy Stebbins, Miriam Tscholl, Maura Morales, Ayla Yeginer, Felix Seiler, Raphaela Möst, Clara Kalus, Sandra Strunz and Manuel Schmitt.

Engagements have taken her to major theatres across Europe, such as the Deutsche Oper Berlin, the Bavarian State Opera in Munich, the National Theatre in Madrid, the Staatsschauspiel in Dresden, the Staatstheater in Augsburg, the Neuköllner Oper, the Piccolo Teatro in Milan, the Schauspielhaus in Graz and the Badisches Staatstheater in Karlsruhe.
She designed the costumes for plays such as Versus and Gólgota Picnic by the Spanish-Argentinian director Rodrigo García, as well as music theatre productions: Nexus 5 by composer Michael Emanuel, have been invited to festivals around the world, such as the Politik im Freien Theater in Dresden, the Kunstenfestivaldesarts in Brussels, the Festival de Otoño in Madrid, the Steirischer Herbst in Graz, , the Malta Festival in Poznań, Festival/Tokyo 10 in Japan, the Festival Iberoamericano de Teatro in Cádiz, Foreign Affairs in Berlin, Festival d'Automne in Paris, and Münchener Biennale.

Montoliú’s productions have received both critical accolades and institutional recognition. Morgenland (بلاد المشرق), directed by Miriam Tscholl with set and costumes by Montoliú was invited to the Theatertreffen in Berlin; meanwhile, the opera Mauerschau, written and directed by Amy Stebbins and composed by Hauke Berheide and costumes designed by Montoliú, won the Opera Festival Prize of the Bavarian State Opera in Munich in 2016.

Montoliú's work is characterised by a strong dramaturgical and interdisciplinary approach, as evidenced by her work as curator of the Zurich Festival — the cultural biennial of Zurich's cultural institutions and the independent scene — from 2016 to 2018. An important part of her role was the conception, communication, mediation, organisation, programme design and implementation, as well as the conception and implementation of fundraising events.

Her managerial expertise was further developed by advanced studies in 'Music and
Theater Management” at Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich in
cooperation with the German Stage Association and the Theaterakademie August Everding. This gave her the opportunity to expand her knowledge in areas such as event and project management. One example of this was her work in project management in the encounter communication agency, Phocus Brand Contact in Nuremberg. There, she worked on events such as the BrandEx –
International Festival of Brand Experience in Dortmund in 2019, and for the Tech Open Air (TOA 2019) event, organised by T-Systems International in collaboration with Daimler DigitalLife.

As well as her practical work, she worked as a guest lecturer in scenography in the degree programme in landscape architecture at the HSR University of Applied Sciences in Rapperswil and in the degree programme in Communication & Cultural Management at Zeppelin University in Friedrichshafen.

She has also organised lectures, performances and art installations in public spaces, as well as publications.

Belén Montoliú is actively involved in promoting gender equality in culture and the media. In 2019, she was selected for the German Cultural Council's Women in Culture and Media mentoring programme. In 2021 she co-founded the WAM (Women in Arts and Media e. V.) association.

Illustration: https://reizend.com/