Nellie Bly Painting

In addition to my theatrical work, which has led me to guest performances and festivals in 45 countries worldwide so far, in the last few years I am focussing more and more on visual art. Born (1963) and raised in Vienna, I studied puppetry arts at the Instituto del Teatro in Barcelona. I was working in Spain for several years with various theatres and artists and returned to Austria in 1993 whereI founded my own company. The “Karin Schäfer Figuren Theater”, while basing its work on the classical techniques of puppetry, has always transcended artistic disciplines with its integration of visual arts, music, dance and new media. It was from these sources that I developed my very special style of „Visual Theatre“. All the productions I have developed to date are available for touring. Up to now, my company has been invited to guest performances and festivals in more than 45 countries (*) all over the world, performing together with renowned pianists and symphony orchestras. My work has been rewarded with numerous prices and awards at Festivals and Competitions. Since 2003 I am also director of the International Festival of Visual Theatre “PannOpticum” in Neusiedl am See (Austria), bringing every two years the highlights of international visual theatre to a small country town in Austria. In 2017 I started focusing on my visual art work, starting a series of paintings, collage and mixed media works under the title of GET LOST. While already my stage creations have always been at the interface of performing and visual art - the inspiration and starting point for my stage settings coming often from works of visual art -I am now reversing the process and starting with the visual art works themselves, but still with a narrative concept incorporated within them. I live and work in Vienna, Austria. Further information on my previous and recent work including pictures and videos as well as biographical information: collage art: visual theatre: instagram: