Meet Bea Labikova, the co-founder and current artistic director behind Women From Space — a brand holding a festival built on the spirit of innovation and fearless creativity. The 2025 Women From Space Festival dares to embrace the unpredictable, offering a lineup that celebrates the extraordinary voices of several female musicians. From avant-garde jazz to dance-infused electronic performances, the Women From Space Festival is more than just a lineup; this festival is about community where artists meet, collaborate, and spark new creative revolutions. Read on to learn more about the festival!

Where are you based?
I am based out of Toronto, Canada.

What inspired you to get into music?
Growing up in Slovakia, I’ve been playing music ever since I can remember. I was a bit of a hyperactive kid growing up and have always loved being engaged in the mental challenge of practicing and improving, and I just loved making sounds.

I’ve also always had an inclination to walk my own path, dressing and acting differently than my peers. Bratislava is in the heart of the Classical music world, and when I was growing up, there wasn’t anyone studying Jazz. But I heard some old records and really got into playing the sax and listening to early jazz. I found pretty much the only teacher around, and from there, I kept going and eventually decided to study music in Canada. I think once I decided to study music in Canada, that was it. I was going to do this, and I kept following the interest, and here we are : )

Can you share what inspired you to create and lead a festival that celebrates gender diversity in experimental music?
Kayla Milmine, the other co-founder, and I are both really involved in the experimental music scene here in Toronto. In 2018, she thought it would be cool to organize a little festival featuring women-led experimental music around International Women’s day and got the inspiration for the name from the legendary experimentalist Sun Ra. I was really excited to help and got immediately onboard organizing. It was, and still is, a DIY thing that we felt was important and fun and that all people in our community would enjoy and get behind.

I think inspiration was and still is to just celebrate and elevate the voices in experimental music that are maybe not heard as much. Even though 2019 is not so long ago, it does feel like it was a different vibe then with regard to inclusion. Now, I think there is a groundswell of interest in experimental music in general, and I think women and gender diverse artists are in some ways at the cutting edge. Even more reason to celebrate!

What does it mean to you to have a festival that highlights and elevates women in experimental music scenes?
This festival is meant to gather our community and have a great time, share, and celebrate adventurous music and women’s innovation.

I think that the mission behind WfS has always been to mark International Women’s day by gathering our community, lifting up the incredible women that work in the local and international experimental music scenes, and creating space for women and women’s innovation.

Now, the world is just seeming scarier and more hostile day by day. In some ways, I think, as mundane as it might seem to just ‘celebrate’ something, maybe that’s what we need most right now — creating a space to just let loose, feel joy, and be with each other in creativity.

I think the community that comes together each year, these really open-minded, heart-driven, adventurous, kind, accepting, and super weird people in the best way are maybe the most meaningful thing to me.

What can audiences expect from the 2025 edition?
There are lots of people who collectively transform 918 into a magical spacey party with interactive installations, special WFS drinks, screen-printed shirts, hand-made jewelry, not to mention the music and dance. And this whole thing is entirely built around these really beautiful people who come, wide-eyed and playful and jazzed about making something special and joyous happen in our neighborhood.

As for what to expect, the first thing is that it’s just a great vibe to be there with everyone in this magically transformed space. The lineup is just incredible and spans a really big range of experimental arts and elevates our wonderful local scene alongside really some of the most interesting international experimentalists. We have The Big Bang playing Nina Simone's special project. It’s a 20-piece unconventional large and wild ensemble made out of artists who work hard all year long to keep our local Toronto creative scene thriving the way it is. Then there is a whole music-dance night including multidisciplinary artist Yuniya Edi Kwon, electro-butoh duo with Azumi OE and Eucademix, and a collaboration with Toronto Dance Theatre, one of Toronto’s top contemporary dance companies. Then, on night three, we have this stunning and hypnotizing hocketing duo, Arushi’s lush modular synth soundscapes, and legendary avant-garde jazz pianist Myra Melford’s stellar trio. Oh and I’m also really excited for our first ever WfS album release from Plastic Babies - who are some of Toronto’s most incredible improvisers. Another celebrated Toronto artist, Allison Cameron, who is coming off hot from an epic year of creation, is premiering a new piece!

What do you hope attendees take away from their experience at the Women From Space Festival? How do you hope it challenges their perceptions of music and gender in the Arts?
I hope the people who come leave feeling inspired by the art that they experience and that they feel energized and emboldened to take that energy and make amazing stuff happen all over the city and beyond! This is really like a DIY scene we have. The WfS fest is like an exception (which is why it’s an important event), but most events are pretty small and are run, watched and participated in by people who just want to carve out space for total creativity. So I hope that this event is like a catalyst to give the year-round work a bump. And the fact that people see themselves in some way on the WfS stage does help to make anyone feel like they can be part of the scene.

The Women From Space Festival has become a key destination for adventurous listeners since 2019. How has the festival evolved over the years? What do you think has contributed most to its growth?
You know, the Women From Space Festival started out in the tiny basement of Wenona Lounge that fit maybe 20 people. I think even then, we knew we wanted this project to grow and reach new people, but didn’t expect for it to have such a positive and enthusiastic response and to grow so quickly. We put a shit load of effort, persistence, consideration and love into it and I think people respond to that kind of grass roots energy.

It started as a festival where everyone knows everyone and now we host all kinds of new people who usually don’t come out to see experimental music - which I am thrilled about. I think we are all hungry for different and new kinds of experiences, and with improvisational and experimental music it’s exciting because you never know what you are going to get.

Perhaps in addition there is something about experimental and improvised music in today’s context that is also contributing to its growth. I feel like the digitization, algorithmization (if that’s a word), branding, meme-ification.. all that stuff is just prompting people to be interested in music created/composed by people in a space in a moment. There’s a non-agenda with experimental music that’s maybe newly attractive…. Just speculating here.

Can you share any memorable moments or surprises from past festivals that highlight the special energy or connection the festival creates among artists and audiences?
Oh my gosh there are so many surprises and forever movements, it’s hard to even hone in on a few.

A neat aspect of free improvisation is that the artists can meet on the stage for the first time and create something special together through improvisation. This allows us each year to pair artists who we think might play well together - we call it matchmaking :)

For example, last year, we put together a movement-music improvisation set with New York-based turntablist and electronic artist Val Jeanty and local Toronto movement artist Nickeshia Garrick. The moment these two met, we knew this performance was meant to be. They immediately hit it off on and off stage and started making plans for future collaborations. It was thrilling to see this connection happen. These one-off special collaborations are definitely a unique aspect of our festival.

Looking forward, what’s your vision for the future of Women From Space? Are there any particular themes or collaborations you would like to explore in upcoming editions of the Festival?
I think I have a document with around 500 names of artists that I would love to see perform at the festival….so I guess I have my work cut out for me : ) Also, maybe we can host the festival in the Scotiabank Arena one year :)

For aspiring musicians and artists looking to follow in your footsteps, what advice would you offer on creating a career in the world of experimental and improvisational music?
Keep playing, keep creating, keep being curious, try things out, enjoy the experiments that work amazingly and also the ones that don't work well at all, support each other in your community, lift each other up, and make your own things happen!

(...and think about the side hustle that is going to help you with rent : )

Are there any upcoming projects you would like to share?
Hmmm, I’m very much in festival mode right now, but I am looking forward to releasing an album in the spring of 2025 with my avant-groove project with drummer Raphael Roter called ‘future proof’. In this group, we mix drums and woodwinds with all kinds of pedal electronics to make a big, sometimes loud, messy, and energized sound. I am super excited for that one!

It has been a crazy past few years, and we suspect at least four more. How have you been staying positive?
In some ways, I think, as mundane as it might seem, the music and people in our scene are like the best antidote to the craziness of the world. I take solace in just being with this music and with these people. Maybe that’s what we need most right now - creating a space to just let loose, feel joy and be with each other in creativity.

It also gives me hope that our little festival thrives amidst a tough environment and that there are plenty of people who share our mission of lifting up the incredible women who work in the local and international experimental music scenes and creating space for women and women’s innovation.

What is your motto in life?
Art is life.

To learn more about Women From Space, please use the links below
www.womenfromspace.com
Instagram: @womenfromspacefestival

Women From Space - Experimental Beats