Sasha Katsalap

Sasha Katsalap (born 2001 in Kyiv) is a composer and performer whose work addresses current artistic and social issues at the intersection of disciplines. Her works have been performed internationally at festivals including Musica Strasbourg (2024) and the Darmstädter Ferienkurse (2023, 2025). She is an awardee of the Gargonza Art Award 2026. Originally from Kyiv, Ukraine, she studied piano at the R. Glier Kyiv Municipal Academy of Music and completed a Bachelor’s degree in composition and piano at the Music Academy Basel, where she received a prize for the best recital for her project touching things. She is currently pursuing a Master of Arts in Composition at the Music Academy Basel. She is part of the hybrid improvisation collective die internationale Volksmusik, which focuses on creating unusual public experiences. As a pianist, she has a wide-ranging repertoire from Baroque to contemporary music, with a focus in recent years on contemporary and performative practices. Since 2023, a big part of her practice has focused on memory, ownership and practices of memorization. How much can I own and how much can I lose? This question spans multiple disciplines, including performance, video, music theatre, multimedia art and exhibition formats. In addition to her artistic work, she is active as a concert and workshop organizer, focusing on socially engaged and cultural projects. Her initiatives include the charity concert series KULTURKATAPULT for Ukraine (Basel, 2025). She also gave the lecture Artist in Resistance: Ukrainian Culture in Times of Russian Aggression at colloquium48 and the Darmstädter Ferienkurse (2023).

© Type Type Hype