ABOUT
(c) Wouter Van Looy
De Wilderness is Lieselot De Wilde’s artistic habitat, a space where creativity flourishes boundlessly, where hidden trails lead to undiscovered territories, and where the most imaginative creatures and sounds come to life. This ever-evolving artistic playground has nurtured Belgian creative artist, performer and singer Lieselot De Wilde into a standout performer with a unique creative language and a deeply personal voice.
Lieselot studied at the Lemmens Institute (Leuven) with Dina Grossberger and Katelijne Van Laethem and continued her artistic development with Jard Van Nes. While she frequently collaborates with ensembles, musicians, and production companies such as Correspondances, Servir Antico, Zwerm, Zefiro Torna, Imago Mundi, LOD, Zonzo Compagnie, Ben Frost, Christina Vantzou, and Frederik Neyrinck, her own creations are at the heart of her artistic identity.
A key project is Around the World in 72 Songs, which takes audiences on a musical journey across cultures, arranging and performing songs from diverse traditions, accompanied by a barrel organ. This project highlights her fascination with the intersection of language, culture, and vocal expression. With Figurine, she explores the concept of female identity through a multidisciplinary lens, reflecting on its evolution across different life stages.
Lieselot's work extends into her music ensemble Bel Ayre, co-founded with guitarist Peter Verhelst, where she reinvents song repertoire and composes new music. Her dedication to blending performance with in-depth research on the influence of language on vocal technique and musical expression earned her the Flemish Culture Prize Ultima for Music in 2021.
In recent years, she has expanded her artistic scope with more music theater productions. La Strada is a participatory performance exploring humanity’s intrinsic wanderlust through stories gathered from local communities, complemented by music from around the world and shared meals. Barellaboum! is a music theater carousel for all ages, inspired by the former lives of famous fairground performers and street and circus artists.
Lieselot is an artistic and coordinating member of Walpurgis, an Antwerp-based workspace for the development and research of music theater.
