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Opera Village Africa – Operndorf Africa is a very special project brought to life by German theatre director Christoph Schlingensief. The foundation stone of the village has been laid in February 2009. And, since then, the Operndorf has been developing successfully 30 km from Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso.
Christoph Schlingensief was a German theatre director, performance artist and filmmaker. He started as an independent underground filmmaker.
Later in life, he staged productions for theatres and festivals, often accompanied by public controversies.
In the final years before his death, he staged Parsifal at the Bayreuth Festival and worked at several opera houses, establishing himself as an artistic director.
Schlingensief’s commitment to developing nations took him to Burkina Faso. There he was awarded a concession to build an opera house. Arguably his most ambitious project.
The project, which received funding from the German government, was also to include a theatre and film school, and an infirmary.
Establishing the Operndorf Africa was very important to Christoph Schlingensief. Thankfully, he was still there to see his vision come to life in February 2009 and in the months that followed.
Christoph Schlingensief passed away in August 2010, due to lung cancer.
Today, the Operndorf consists of a primary school with an artistic focus for almost three hundred children, a medical center including a dental clinic, a birth center and a pharmacy.
As well as guest houses for visitors and artists who come to the Operndorf from all over the world and charge the place with their creative energy.
The Operndorf Afrika was initially pushed with the financial and logistic support of the German Federal Cultural Foundation, the Goethe Institute, the German Federal Foreign Office, the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, the Association Grünhelme and the enormous personal commitment of many people.
Since 2011, the international art project, which keeps building on Christoph Schlingensief’s vision is under the patronage of the former Federal President of Germany, Horst Köhler.
In an interview Horst Köhler said, “The Operndorf is a project that arouses hope – hope that there can be a relationship between Europe and Africa, which is based on reciprocity and not on dominance. Hope that culture can contribute to the development of children and the development of a country. The Operndorf is a village of hope.”
In 2012, numerous internationally renowned artists donated works for a fundraising auction for the Operndorf Africa at Hamburg’s Main Station.
Among them Marina Abramović, Pipilotti Rist, Georg Baselitz, Christo, Olafur Eliasson, Andreas Gursky, Wolfgang Tillmans and Günther Uecker. Patti Smith, a friend of Christoph Schlingensief for many years, contributed a drawing that she made in the summer of 2010 during a joint exhibition in Munich.
Coupled with Operndorf Afrika was Christoph Schlingensief’s wish, to create an international meeting place. He wanted to create a space in which people from different backgrounds can work together as artists and exchange their views with each other.
Since its opening in 2009, this has manifested itself in the village becoming a platform for intercultural exchange programs and relevant postcolonial discourses.
Then there is the daily reality of the emerging village, about 30 km from Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso. The project is expected, over the medium term, to be handed over fully to its local residents.
To date, twenty-six buildings have been built in the gradually developing village, provided by the government of Burkina Faso.
If you want to contribute to this great cultural, humanitarian, and artistic project, please have a look at their official website. Donations are always welcome and will be used responsibly.
You also might be interested in this great short film which has been created about Operndorf Africa for its 10th anniversary.
Unfortunately, the video seems to only be available in German. However, the pictures and the great energy which resonate through this video will speak for themselves.
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Liam Klenk was born in Central Europe and has since lived on four continents. Liam has always been engaged in creative pursuits, ranging from photography and graphic design, to writing short stories and poetry, to working in theatre and shows. In 2016, Liam published his first book and memoir, 'Paralian'.
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