Michaela Leitz

Every commission begins with one question.

Who needs to be in the room?

Cultural commissions.
Contemporary salons.
Ongoing cultural partnerships.

Commissioned by brands, hospitality and cultural institutions.

• Selected Work
• About Michaela
• Begin a Conversation

SELECTED WORK

CHECKMATE

A Contemporary Salon Installation

House Farrago by ArtAffect Sofia · Sofia · May 2026

Chess became a way of thinking about power, intimacy and social conditioning. Twelve invited guests gathered around questions of dreams, identity, cultural longing and the way we gather now.

• View Selected Work

Belonging has become more valuable than reach.

The strongest brands create worlds people want to belong to.

The most valuable relationships need a room.

A carefully curated room creates trust, conversation and cultural proximity between people who may otherwise never meet.

Access has become a luxury.

A seat at the table recognises existing patrons and creates aspiration for those who hope to enter the room.

Products need culture around them.

Collections, fragrances, objects and places gain a cultural life through conversation, ritual and shared experience.

THE NEXT ROOM

Every salon begins with a conversation.The organisation, the people it wants to bring together and the ideas it wants to place into the room shape the commission.

• Begin a Conversation

ABOUT MICHAELA

I've been fascinated by salons for years. Long before I created my first salon commission, I kept returning to the same question: who decides which people belong in the same room, and what becomes possible once they are there?For more than a decade, my work has moved across fashion, media, community building and cultural strategy, with international projects across Europe and the United States. My work has been featured by CNN, Forbes, InStyle and MIT Technology Review. I have also spoken at Dumfries House during a programme connected to The King's Foundation.Fashion, contemporary art and editorial culture have shaped the way I look at rooms, objects and people. I pay attention to the visual language around an idea, the guest list, the material details, the pacing, the conversations and what remains in people's minds afterwards.CHECKMATE became the first realised salon commission within my own practice. I created the concept, guest curation, conversation, atmosphere, visual language and hosting. Twelve artists, designers, professors, musicians, gallery founders and cultural figures entered a room built around chess, the human condition, scent, sculptural food, live violin and a strict black-and-white language.

I wanted people to feel what I could see.

SELECTED RECOGNITION

CNN · Forbes · InStyle · MIT Technology Review · The King’s Foundation

SELECTED COLLABORATIONS

FARFETCH · Viva Voce · Messe Frankfurt · Kornit Digital

LOCATION

Based in Germany · Working internationally

CHECKMATE

A Contemporary Salon Installation

House Farrago by ArtAffect Sofia · Sofia · May 2026

CHECKMATE used chess as a way of thinking about power, intimacy and social conditioning.
Twelve invited guests gathered around questions of dreams, identity, intimacy, cultural longing and the way we gather now.

Artists, designers, professors, musicians, gallery founders and cultural figures became part of a
room held through conversation, sculptural food, tea, scent, live violin and a strict black-and-white language.

Guests later enquired about salon commissions for their own companies, clients and spaces.
Conversations during the evening developed into ideas for new artworks, exhibitions and
collaborations.

• VIEW FULL PROJECT

BEGIN A CONVERSATION

Every commission starts with the organisation, the people it wants to bring together and the ideas it wants to put into the room.The format, scale and collaborators are developed from there.

SALON COMMISSION

SINGLE AUTHORED COMMISSION

An intimate cultural and artistic commission created around one organisation, one group of people and one idea worth gathering around. The work may include concept development, guest curation, creative direction, atmosphere and ritual, conversation design and hosting.

CULTURAL COMMISSION

3 TO 6 MONTHS

A focused period of immersion and development around one cultural chapter. The work may include research, leadership conversations, cultural direction, commissioned experiences and the development of one realised chapter.

ONGOING CULTURAL AUTHORSHIP

12 MONTHS OR CONTINUING

A longer relationship for organisations building several cultural chapters over time. Michaela works closely with leadership and selected teams across salons, cultural programming, private gatherings, artistic collaborations and ongoing cultural direction.

SPEAKING & CONVERSATIONS

SELECTED ENGAGEMENTS

Keynotes, interviews, moderated conversations and private leadership discussions around culture, belonging, private clients, community, aesthetic perception, contemporary rituals and the rooms organisations create.

INQUIRE WHEN YOUR ROOM IS READY

Available for a limited number of salon commissions, cultural commissions, ongoing authorship relationships and speaking engagements.

[email protected] · @aboutmichaela · Available for commissions internationally.