When spaces become smaller, we simply build new ones.

Slowly, after the summer break, everyday life is returning to the Opera Village, and with it, the schoolchildren. At the same time, planning for the months ahead is in full swing. Soon, a lot will be happening here again. And we can finally announce what we have had to keep to ourselves until now: our Artist-in-Residence Programme 2026/2027 will once again be supported by the German Federal Foreign Office. This means not only artist residencies, but above all many collaborations with local partner organisations and a large programme of workshops for the wider region.

“Art as Participation in Social Discourse – a continued Dialogue” is the name of the programme, and the title says quite a lot about what it is all about: We want Operndorf to develop even further as a place where art, international encounters, education and social exchange come together. For this, we are bringing international and African artists together with local cultural practitioners, young people, women, media makers and civil society initiatives. Residencies, workshops, media formats and public presentations will all feed into one another. In this way, we want to create spaces at Operndorf where people can develop their own perspectives, make them visible and share them with others.

Social and political spaces for participation have become increasingly restricted in many places, while access to independent information has become more difficult. Young people and women, in particular, often have few opportunities to participate in cultural and social life. This is where art can be more than expression. It can be the beginning of a conversation, an impulse for critical thinking, a form of participation. And this is exactly where we want to begin.

Together with strong partner organisations from Burkina Faso and across the region, we will develop artistic and media projects that bring people together and create space for them to tell their own stories. Six artists will come to Operndorf for residencies. At the same time, workshops and educational programmes will get underway – ranging from dance and creative expression to media literacy and civic education, as well as rap, podcasts, video and animation. Creative approaches to new technologies and artificial intelligence will also have their place.

And this is only the beginning. Over the coming months, we will work, dance, discuss, research, produce and experiment here. New works will emerge, radio programmes will be produced and public events will take place.

We would love to take you along on this journey. Over the coming weeks, we will introduce the individual projects, our partner organisations and the artists joining us in Operndorf, one by one. So: back to the Opera Village, and into an intense time filled with art, encounters and shared ideas. We can’t wait to get started.

The programme is supported by