The Opera Village Africa is a village in Burkina Faso initiated by Christoph Schlingensief that continues to grow. The village is both an intercultural meeting place and a school. It has an infirmary, a canteen and accommodation for teachers and changing artists. The project is intended to initiate a postcolonial discourse, to create new and more differentiated images of Africa, but primarily new spaces of possibility for the pupils living there. Art, theatre, dance and film, in combination with conventional educational formats and content, form a platform within which children can express themselves creatively and artistically. For Schlingensief, three pillars formed the basis of the opera village: education, health and culture. Schlingensief died six months after the foundation stone was laid.

Intercultural and international meeting place where knowledge is imparted, spaces of possibility are created by combining art, film, theatre, dance and traditional educational content, and access to medical care is provided for students and residents.

Emergence of artistic projects through exchange, collaboration and engagement. Community building and testing of new constellations and possibilities, taking into account individual and local needs. Creation of an open, slowly growing structure (snail shape). Since 2012, a monthly cultural programme with theatre performances, concerts, workshops and film screenings has taken place. The political situation in Burkina Faso sometimes ensures that programmes can only take place in conjunction with security forces.

Christoph Schlingensief