We visualize music.
Projection painting for concert halls, festivals, and cultural venues
We offer tailor-made light art concepts for a wide range of formats and spaces. From intimate chamber music concerts to monumental façade projections. Our specialization is the visualization of classical music: symphonies, operas, oratorios and chamber music – yet contemporary and experimental music projects are also part of our repertoire. Our stage projections create a dynamic visual layer that transforms in real time with the music.
We work closely with orchestras, ensembles and soloists, developing a unique visual concept for every project. The entire technical realisation, from projection planning to our custom-built software, is entirely in our hands.
Julia Schäfer and Johannes Schmidt
(Berlin 2026)
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for your project
Audiovisual Concerts, Stage Projections & Visual Scenography
Live-painted and animated light art projections as stage design (scenography) for orchestras, chamber music ensembles and soloists. The projections work both as a standalone stage design and in combination with a classical stage setup. Suited to concert halls, churches, festival venues and open-air stages.
Projection Mapping & Architectural Projections
Large-scale light art projections on the facades of churches, monuments and historic buildings – live painted and musically staged in public space.
Light Art Installations
Site-specific installations for churches, monasteries, museums and public spaces. The installations combine projected painting with soundscapes to create an immersive spatial experience.
Dome Projections
Immersive full-dome projections for planetariums and dome venues.
Commissions & Corporate Events
Light art for corporate events, product launches and trade fairs. Previous clients include: the European Commission, the German Federal Foreign Office, Siemens, Airbus, Bayer Kultur, Deutsche Telekom.
Frequently Asked Questions
How does Kopffarben’s light art work?
Julia Schäfer paints the visual motifs either live on stage using a graphics tablet – the emerging motifs are simultaneously projected on a large scale and animated in real time to the music by Johannes Schmidt – or beforehand in the studio, so that the finished projections can be played as a loop. This makes our light art suitable both for one-off live performances and for longer-running installations.
Can we book Kopffarben for a concert or festival?
Yes. We develop a unique visual concept for every project – tailored to the programme, the space and the ensemble. For enquiries and booking: mail@kopffarben.de
What kind of music do you visualise?
Our focus is on classical music – symphonies, operas, oratorios and chamber music. However, we also work with jazz, experimental electronics and contemporary music. If no live musicians are available, we can also select a suitable music recording.
Do you bring your own equipment?
We bring our own hardware and software, specifically developed for light painting. If projectors or LED walls are already available at the venue, we will use them. We can also provide our own projectors if needed.
Our set-up for live projection painting:
– Easel with monitor (floor space approx. 2 m²), preferably on stage or close to the projection
– PC (26 × 12 × 24 cm), can be placed up to 8 metres from the easel-
– Display cable, output: HDMI or DVI
What kind of venues are suitable?
Concert halls, churches, museums, industrial spaces, open-air stages, building façades – our technology can be flexibly adapted to the spatial conditions. Requirements are a light-coloured projection surface (wall or screen) and the ability to darken the space, or a performance starting at least one hour after sunset.
For light installations running on a loop, no personnel are needed on site – the projection runs autonomously after set-up.
How much does a project cost?
Costs depend on the format, scope and location of the event. We are happy to provide an individual quote. Contact: schaefer@kopffarben.de
How much lead time do you need?
We ideally plan four to six weeks of lead time for the artistic conception. For particularly complex new productions, more time is welcome.
Do you work internationally?
Yes, we regularly perform across Europe – including France, Lithuania and Italy. Communication is possible in German and English.
Is Kopffarben suited to opera and music theatre?
Yes. Our light art projections serve as visual stage design in music theatre productions – from children’s operas to full-length oratorios. Previous productions include Mendelssohn’s „A Midsummer Night’s Dream“ and „The First Walpurgis Night“ as light operas (stARTfestival Bayer Kultur) as well as Handel’s „Belshazzar“ with the Thomaskantorei Hofheim.
Can Kopffarben collaborate with directors and set designers?
Yes. We work both as an independent visual concept and in close coordination with existing directorial and set design concepts. Our projections can be integrated into any staging concept. We maintain a close artistic partnership with the author and librettist Marc Schwämmlein (Ensemble Taugenichts): together we developed Mendelssohn’s „A Midsummer Night’s Dream“ and „The First Walpurgis Night“ as light operas. Further joint productions are currently in development – including Sibelius‘ „Lemminkäinen Suite“ and the trumpet concerto „Yggdrasil“ by Matthias Werner.
About Us
We are Julia Schäfer and Johannes Schmidt – a painter and a media artist. As the artist collective Kopffarben, we have been creating live-painted and animated light art projections since 2012: as stage design for concerts and operas, as architectural projections, and as light installations.
The vision of Kopffarben: to bring paintings to life, to make spaces tell stories, and to make music visible. In a symbiosis of digital fine art and artistic algorithms, we create a unique form of interactive, moving images of light.
How our light art is created
What makes our projections unique is the fusion of classical painting and digital animation. The visual motifs are not computer-generated – they are painted by Julia, either live on stage during performances or beforehand in the studio. The animations, too, are not automated – they are manually choreographed to the music by Johannes, as precise and expressive as an instrument played live. All software is developed and continuously refined by Johannes himself, custom-built for the evolving artistic demands of each production.
Collaborating with musicians
Our productions are a fusion of moving light images and music. Julia responds to the thematic framework of each concert through her choice of motifs and colours. Johannes aligns the movement and transformation of these motifs with the rhythm and timbre of the musicians. This process results in closely coordinated audiovisual concepts, developed in collaboration with orchestras, ensembles and soloists across a wide range of genres – from the Bayer Philharmonic and the Berlin State Youth Orchestra to string quartets, organists, experimental electronics and jazz.
The experience for the audience
Our performative light painting creates an immersive dynamic, allowing the audience to intensify the musical experience through a visual and spatial dimension. The interplay of music and rhythmically transforming images creates an experiential space that captivates music lovers and digital art enthusiasts alike.
Our story
We have been experimenting with various formats since we first met in 2000 – from animated films to large-scale projections. The name Kopffarben originates from a short art film we created together in 2004.
After completing our studies, we set up a shared studio in Berlin and began developing our painting-based projection art from 2011 onwards. In the summer of 2012, we founded KOPFFARBEN GbR, specialising in audiovisual concerts – both in concert halls and in public spaces as large-scale architectural mappings.
In 2015, we were awarded the title of Kultur- und Kreativpiloten Deutschland (Cultural and Creative Pioneers) by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy.
Julia Schäfer
Performer Live Painting | Producer Painting + Illustrations
- Artistic Director, KOPFFARBEN GbR (Berlin) – Artistic conception and painterly realization of the light art; also responsible for organization, graphic design, and booking
- Degree in Fine Art – Diploma in Painting, 2009
- Training Graphic Designer
- Set Design Assistant Puppet Theatre of the City of Halle/Saale
Our Musical Partners
We collaborate with orchestras, ensembles, and soloists across a wide range of genres – from symphony orchestras and chamber music to organ and harp, through to jazz, beatbox, and experimental electronics. Among them the Bayer Philharmoniker, the Jena Philharmonic, the Berlin State Youth Orchestra, the String Quartet of the Berliner Symphoniker, Ensemble Taugenichts, and flutist Brunhild Fischer.
Johannes Schmidt
Performer Live Animation | Developer | Creative Coding
- Technical Director, KOPFFARBEN GbR (Berlin) -Development and programming of project-specific software; live animation during performances
- vvvv Open-Source Developer
- Head of Development, m-box bewegtbild GmbH (Berlin) — Development of interactive installations and projection mapping systems; client projects for Mercedes, Daimler, Telekom, and others
- Degree in Directing and Computer Animation – Diploma in Animation, 2009
- Production Assistant, SCHMIDTzKATZE FILMKOLLEKTIV GmbH (Halle/Berlin)
- Senior 3D Artist / R&D, Puppeteers GmbH (NRW)
- Studies in Computer Science and Media Technology, TU Ilmenau
Would you like to book Kopffarben for a concert, a music theatre production, a festival or an architectural projection – or do you have any further questions? We look forward to hearing from you:
KOPFFARBEN
Julia Schäfer + Johannes Schmidt
Atelier Pankstrasse 12 | 13357 Berlin | Germany
mail@kopffarben.de