Presentation
We cordially invite you to join us in celebrating the conclusion of our three-year pilot program, L.I.K. – Laboratory for Inclusive Culture.
The highlight of the evening will be South African composer Carlie Schoonees and her work “I eat men like air,” which she created during her residency at the Un-Label Studio—an intense piece about female rage as embodied, often suppressed energy. Drummer Rita Couto Soares will perform two works that evening: a solo by Iannis Xenakis that explores rhythm, the body, and presence, as well as Schoonees’ new composition.
Join us in raising a glass to three years of international residencies, outward-looking artistic practice, and inclusive cultural work.
April 24 at 7:00 p.m. at Un-Label Studio.
We look forward to seeing you there!
About the Residency
During her residency, composer Carlie Schoonees will compose a solo piece for percussionist Rita Soares that explores female rage as a physical, embodied, and often suppressed force. The title, *I eat men like air*, is taken from the last stanza of Sylvia Plath’s poem “Lady Lazarus”:
[…]
Beware
Beware.
Out of the ash
I rise with my red hair
And I eat men like air.
These powerful words serve as a condensed image of anger, resilience, and survival in the face of systemic oppression and violence against women. Rather than focusing exclusively on Plath’s poem or biography, the work draws on the broader emotional landscape that this phrase opens up: an anger that is sharp, raw, consuming, and uncompromising.
*I eat men like air* reflects on how female anger is often pathologized, silenced, shamed, or turned inward. Through sound, gesture, and performative action, the piece will give form to emotions whose open expression is often socially undesirable.
Performative elements and lighting play a central role, blurring the boundaries between musical action and physical expression. The composer and performer collaborate to find ways, gestures, and movements to translate anger into sound. The body, as a vessel of memory, frustration, and resistance, takes center stage.
Ultimately, the work is an act of making visible: an exploration of anger not as something destructive or shameful, but as a reaction to lived experience, trauma, and resilience.
Artists
Carlie Schoonees
Carlie Schoonees is a South African composer who lives and works in Cologne. She works in the fields of instrumental music, music theater, and electroacoustic music, as well as in multimedia, performative, and interdisciplinary contexts. In her music, she frequently explores psychological themes, including her own neurodivergence. To this end, she uses texts, metaphors drawn from nature, and musical and performative gestures. Schoonees’ works have been commissioned and performed at festivals such as Acht Brücken (2024), the ORBIT Festival for Contemporary Theater (2024), AvantGarten Liedberg (2020), and the South African Woordfees (2018), among others. As part of the Adventure concert series, she had three world premieres with the Ensemble Musikfabrik, participated in workshops with ensembles such as the JACK Quartet, and received a composition commission from the University of Bonn, which premiered at the Beethoven-Haus in Bonn. After studying composition at Stellenbosch University in South Africa under Hans Roosenschoon, she moved to Cologne in 2019. There, she completed two master’s programs—Instrumental Composition and Electronic Composition—at the Cologne University of Music and Dance. During this time, she studied with Sergej Maingardt, Michael Beil, Annesley Black, Brigitta Muntendorf, and Miroslav Srnka, among others.
Rita Couto Soares
Rita Couto Soares is a Portuguese percussionist whose work focuses on contemporary music. She is particularly interested in performing new works and collaborating with composers. She studied percussion at the University of Minho with Nuno Aroso and completed two master’s programs in solo percussion and new music at the Cologne University of Music and Dance, where she studied with Carlos Tarcha and Dirk Rothbrust. Rita has participated in international programs such as the Darmstadt Summer Courses, the European Workshop for Contemporary Music, and the Remix Ensemble Academy. She has performed at renowned festivals for contemporary music such as Acht Brücken and Warsaw Autumn, and has collaborated with groups such as the Ensemble Musikfabrik and unfeed.
Image Credits: 1) Sophia Hegewald, 2) and 3) Anna Tena
About the Un-Label Artist Residency
Un-Label’s artist residencies offer artists with disabilities the opportunity to realize their own creative projects while receiving targeted support. At the Lab for Inclusive Culture (Labor für inklusive Kultur, L.I.K.) in Cologne-Neuehrenfeld, a central hub is being created where artists with disabilities can come together, network, and work in an inclusive environment. In addition to financial, personnel, and logistical support, there is a focus on interdisciplinary and intersectional collaboration. Un-Label also works with network partners to sustainably embed accessibility and the promotion of artists with disabilities in the cultural scene.
