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Efva Lilja is a Swedish artist and choreographer with a global reach. Her
works include performances, visual art, film and writing, often described as
innovative and controversial. Her choreographic sequences represent imagery
meant to challenge our perception of reality. Some of her most celebrated works
were produced for art institutions such as Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris, The
Stockholm Museum of Modern Art and The Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, but she is also
highly recognized for experimental site specifics and research-based works in
galleries and at alternative venues. In the last few years, her focus is mainly
on painting and writing choreography.
Some historical facts
After having worked as a dancer and choreographer in Sweden, Britain and the
US, Efva Lilja founded E.L.D., an independent dance company based in Stockholm,
in 1985. For twenty years, she was the choreographer and Artistic Director of
E.L.D., producing and presenting works in more than 35 countries. In 2003 she
was appointed Professor of Choreography and from 2006 to 2013 she was the
Vice-Chancellor of DOCH, the University of Dance and Circus in Stockholm. In
2014 she was the expert advisor on artistic research at the Ministry of
Education and Research in Sweden. From 2016 until May 2019 Efva Lilja was the
Artistic Director of Dansehallerne in Copenhagen, Denmark’s national forum and
venue for contemporary dance. Efva Lilja is an author of eleven books and a
lecturer in great demand world-wide. She has been decorated and received a
number of prizes and awards.
Since the late 1990s she has worked with artistic research and been an active
force nationally and internationally, working to improve conditions for artists
to undertake research in their artistic practices. She has been engaged in the
boards of the ELIA, PEEK and the Norwegian Program for Artistic Research, the
Chairperson of the Committee for Artistic Research in Denmark. From 2015 she is
a member of the International Board at HZT/UDK in Berlin, to mention a few of
her positions of trust. She presents, writes and lectures frequently on the
topic of her art, of artistic research and of the role of art in the today
society. Efva Lilja is also an activist in cultural politics, for instance on
the EU level in Team Culture 2012, 2013-2014 she was invited by President José
Manuel Barroso to be part of the project A New Narrative for Europe. 2016 she
was appointed member of ECP, European Cultural Parliament and 2018 of Disorderly
Woman, a network for female leaders in the arts.
Efva Lilja about her work
