Daniel Hellmann

Summer in Switzerland Thanks friends, mountains and lakes for the magical moments 💕

I’m honoured and happy to share that I received a Swiss Performing Arts Award 2025 — a recognition from the Federal Office of Culture for my work as @soyathecow . 🐄✨ My award speech moment will come later this fall. For now, I just want to celebrate by thanking my role models: all drag artists and activists who have used the art of drag to challenge norms, binaries, and oppressions. I’m forever inspired by you and grateful to walk in your footsteps. 💜 And to all the cows, bulls, and calves — who have resisted human violence for over 10,000 years while teaching us beauty, kindness, and forgiveness — this is for you. The best way to celebrate is to use our voices to shatter all forms of supremacy. #endmalesupremacy #endwhitesupremacy #endableism #endhumansupremacy #endpseciesism #endjewishsupremacy #endheterosexism #endcisnormativity #endagism #endclassism #endcolonialsupremacy

I spent 12 wonderful days in São Miguel - Azores, working on a big project with my sister @rafabqueer . Our art residency includes encounters with dolphins, cows, sei whales, donkeys and also very sweet humans. Rafa and I will be part of the biennial @walktalkazores in the fall. Thank you @vagapdl @jesse____james @wallacapelobo @ant.branco @oluisbrum & Ruben

Voice For Cows With Daniel Hellmann aka "Soya The Cow" In this powerful episode, Soja the Cow — the world’s first vegan drag cow and performance activist shares a bold and thought-provoking journey of challenging societal norms through creativity, courage, and compassion. From confronting the “big cultural lie” around dairy to using art as a voice for the voiceless, this conversation uncovers truths most people never question. This is not just a conversation — it’s a perspective shift. 💔 Hear the moment everything changed 🌱 Discover how creativity can spark activism 🐄 Understand the hidden reality behind dairy and motherhood ✨ Learn how one voice can challenge an entire system This episode will make you question what you’ve been taught, feel deeply, and see the world — and animals — in a completely new light. 👉 You can also support the International Calf and Cow Mother’s Day 2026 by sharing your art, recipes, or hosting an event. Learn more at calfandcow.org. 💡 V-COP 25 is coming soon! 🔥 Get ready for powerful discussions, groundbreaking solutions, and inspiring voices leading the charge for a sustainable, plant-based future. Register here: /v-cop Watch full podcast at https://youtu.be/ED_lh6bAH8I #Vegan #AnimalRights #DairyTruth #GoVegan #VeganActivism AnimalCruelty PlantBased

a few days in paris with @gehhindurch , friends, mouthwatering vegan food, monumental queer art, a empowering conference, sunny days (is this the new december?) and many delicious surprises! Merci @oliviaschenker @bruno.deruisseau pour l’accueil 🫶🏽

it is a big honour for me to be one of the winner of this 2025‘s @swissperformingartsawards here is my acceptance speech. i wanted to pay tribute to my mom whose earrings I‘m wearing on stage, and to all animals experiencing human-made hell. you are the reason i do what i do. you give me courage, passion and heartache, and I promise that I will ALWAYS speak up for you and your liberation 💫 i had to shorten it a bit for instagram, so a special thanks goes out to my team, my family and my partner. without you this cow would not be who she is today 💞🐮 #veganforlife #veganartist #drag #performance #switzerland #awardshow #pride

Here the video made for the Swiss Performing Arts Award 🥰 Thank you all for your lovely messages of support. xx

Beautiful days with @rafabqueer , the Atlantic ocean, volcanic rocks, art, sunsets and late evening strolls through Ponta Delgada. Thank you @walktalkazores

Which version of me do you prefer? Comment below ⬇️ 1 👱🏼 2 🐮

. SCHWEIZER PREIS DARSTELLENDE KÜNSTE 2025 – Daniel Hellmann Daniel Hellmann, 1985 in Zürich geboren, ist Tanz- und Theaterschaffender, Sänger Performancekünstler und Aktivist. Er studierte Philosophie in Zürich, klassischen Gesang an der Hochschule für Musik in Lausanne und Performance an der Hochschule der Künste Bern. Mit seiner Drag-Figur Soya the Cow verwischt er seit 2018 die Grenzen zwischen Mensch und Tier. In seinen interdisziplinären Kreationen hinterfragt Daniel Hellmann / Soya the Cow Körperbeziehungen, gesellschaftliche Normen und Machtverhältnisse an der Schnittstelle zwischen Sexualität, Klima, Menschen- und Tierrechten. Im Jahr 2012 gründete Daniel Hellmann das Kollektiv 3art3 Company, mit dem er für das Stück «Requiem for a piece of meat» 2015 den June Johnson Dance Prize erhielt. 2015 kreierte er die Solo-Performance «Traumboy», eine autofiktionale Auseinandersetzung mit männlicher Sexarbeit. 2019 folgte das weibliche Pendant «Traumgirl». Sein Stück «Queere Tiere» (2024), bei dem er als Soya the Cow zusammen mit Coco Schwarz (Piano Prince) auftritt, ist Drag-Show und musikalisches Erzähltheater zugleich. Aktuell arbeitet Daniel Hellmann mit Rafa Bqueer am multimedialen Spektakel «De-Domestication», das im September 2025 im Tanzhaus Zürich Premiere feiert. @daniel_hellmann @soyathecow Photos: @charlottekrieger Animation: @adelinemollard

A wholesome weekend full of music, dances, old and new connections, sleeplessness, queer joy and aliveness. Thank you @whole.festival and all the artists, organisers, staff and volunteers for allowing this to be experienced for us. And thank you to all the beautiful human beings I got to share fragments of this bouquet of magical madness with 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️❤️‍🔥 Happy Whole ✨

I’m back in Switzerland after two incredible months in Brasil. Feeling the vibrancy in my heart, the sounds and smells, the refreshing energy of the waterfalls, the laughter of my friends, the majesty of the ocean and the profound sweetness of a new love 🌊✨ These are just some images that popped up in my phone, many more moments are stored in my heart ❤️