Michael Helland

Michael Helland (1981, New York / Brussels) works at the crossroads of theatrical presentation, exhibition-based contexts, and public art modalities. He makes creative interventions aimed to foster social connectivity and help communities face the dark uncertainty of the future. His current research-in-action RECESS (Ritual Experience Concept Event Spa Show) has resulted in RECESS: Dance of Light (2016) – a one-hour theatrical intervention at Abrons Arts Center in New York, and RECESS: ZSenne Salon (2017) – a two-week pop-up urban sanctuary at ZSenne art lab in Brussels.

As a Brussels-based dance artist, Helland has performed with Christian Bakalov, Thomas Proksch, Isabel Lewis, Tino Sehgal, Daniel Linehan, Heather Kravas, Maria Hassabi, Xavier Le Roy, and Eleanor Bauer, among others. Prior to relocating from New York to Brussels in 2010, Helland received a 2009 New York Dance and Performance ‘Bessie’ Award for his performance in Faye Driscoll’s 837 Venice Boulevard. Additional projects include works with Yan Duyvendak, Marina Abramović, RoseAnne Spradlin, and Big Art Group. Helland holds degrees in Dance and in Community, Environment, and Planning from the University of Washington in Seattle.