Julian Hetzel: SPAfrica

A reset for reimagination

It was the first time in my ten years of professional career that I participated in a residency dedicated to artistic research – free from the usual production logic. The six weeks at Onassis AiR turned out to be an inspiring and beneficial process that still resonates with me on many levels. Here are some thoughts and reflections on the residency and my experience.

I came to Athens with the idea to engage with a twofold research:

• the relation between water (as a natural resource) and empathy (as an emotional resource) with a focus on their extraction and capitalization
• new philanthropic models linked to gift economy and the proposition to use emotions as alternative currencies

During my time in Athens, I mainly followed the first subject while focusing on water and tears. My visit was structured in different parts, with collaborators visiting me for extended periods that stirred the research in different directions. Dramaturg Miguel Angel Melgares and performer Ntando Cele came for a couple of weeks to explore water as material of conflict and the practice of professional mourning (that is still being performed in parts of southern Greece).

The first week was mainly dedicated to getting to know the other fellows, the facilities, and the surroundings. The exchange with international (mid-career) artists from various backgrounds (theatre, dance, film, music, and visual arts) was a unique opportunity to learn from others through dialogue and to further develop my own research trajectory. It was an enriching and refreshing experience to be part of this program and to meet other artists on an eye-to-eye level, as fellows and peers, to coexist and to share thoughts, ideas, contacts, and also physical spaces. The generous support of the Onassis AiR team contributed largely to this experience.

To me it was a gift to be in a different role for six weeks: not to be in charge, not to be responsible for a team and to just be one of many (and not the artistic director of a company who is always expected to know everything and make decisions). To be allowed to be curious, to learn, to listen, to get lost, and to spend time in such an inspiring environment and a city like Athens was a great experience. It felt like taking a long-needed break, like tilling the field to keep the creative soil of my mind and soul fertile.

I also used two weeks of the residency for therapeutic fasting – in which I voluntarily went without food, living mainly on my fat reserves. This procedure detoxes enzymes, resulting in a deep cleansing of the cells and tissue while providing an enhanced and clear mental state. The fasting as well as the general sense of freedom that the residency provided (detached from most of my daily studio business routine and production logic), gave space for re-imagination and new ideas to emerge.

Reset is a concept that might best describe and summarize my residency at Onassis AiR.

Things changed during my stay. Things shifted in me and in relation to my team. The research I started led me to new places and to a collaboration with another artist (Ntando Cele). I became more open to understanding and appreciating the power that comes from listening and letting go. Now, with the distance of time, I see how precious it is to create time and space to think differently.

The exchanges I had with the other participants and the Onassis AiR team were probably the most valuable and memorable experiences of the residency. Getting to know the working conditions of the other fellows made me feel humble and excited at the same time. It was striking to see how important the existence of the Onassis AiR program is for the local art scene – as a fertile biotope where artists are able to grow ideas, to cultivate dialogue, refine their practice, and plant the seeds for future creations. I also understood how relevant and at once confusing the exchange with international artists is for this community.

The coexistence of local and international perspectives creates a climate that allows critical exchange on various levels. I learned a lot about the local artists and gained insight into their realities. It made me aware of my privileges, opportunities, and responsibilities (which are granted to me as a structurally funded artist based in the Netherlands). In that sense, it was also an ambiguous and somewhat confronting experience at times. I was aware (and was made aware) of my privileged position and of my role. I appreciated this confrontation and the open discourse about resources and modes of collaboration that was based on the comparison of the realities between Amsterdam and Athens.

In Amsterdam I read the news to learn about the world. In Athens I learn about the urgent issues that are being discussed in the news, simply by looking around and by speaking to people on the street. Subjects like migration or gentrification are tangible in every corner of the city. The corporate environment of the residency stands in harsh contrast to the reality of most people outside the walls of Onassis AiR. As my artistic practice is also about what I call “the big behinds” (the hidden economies and power structures that govern the world we live in), I found myself often reflecting on and processing my situation as a fellow of a residency program funded by Onassis Stegi.

What does it mean to be a participant of a program that is financed through a system that aims compensation for massive tax-evasion of a company established by one of the biggest “oligarchs” of Greece? What does it mean for me to use this opportunity to undertake critical research about capitalism and extractivism? During my stay, I discovered the metaphor of the angry dog that bites the hand that feeds him to somehow describe my position and the position of many other artists that profit from this program. Now I wonder if anger is an emotional state one wants to work from... (but that’s another story).

In the library, I discovered a great selection of books/texts on the subject of philanthropy that question its mechanism and working. These texts provided interesting perspectives about gift economy, altruism, and the system of philanthropy at large. To be implicated in a situation is an interesting position for critical reflection. In a way, I also worked on my second research subject, “reimagining philanthropic models”, but mainly without being actually aware of it.

My observations of the cultural scene in Athens and Onassis AiR awakened the interest to change things in my system “at home”. I understood that it is time to rethink my practice and how we work as a team in the studio. I was inspired to rethink modes of collaboration and share resources, facilities, and time with other artists and researchers. I was inspired to proactively distribute the resources we have, open my studio, and make it accessible for others. I was inspired to work on a more horizontal level and strengthen the exchange with other cultural workers abroad. We are currently finding ways to implement these ideas in our practice.

After six weeks, I understood that the time passed rapidly, I learned a lot, met inspiring people, discovered a fantastic metropolis and planted the seed for my new creation “SPAfrica”. I managed to partly develop the concept of the piece and only now, after some time, things that I stumbled upon during my time in Athens seem to be falling into place. Inviting dramaturg Miguel Angel Melgares and performer Ntando Cele to visit me during the residency created space to explore the material and temporarily bridge the two worlds. The Open Day at the end of my residency was a very constructive and informative experience. Parts of my Open Day presentation miraculously found their way into “SPAfrica”. The text (and parts of the slideshow) that I shared with the visitors on December 2nd is now performed by Ntando who is wearing a silicone mask of my face. It seems like things are coming together in an organic way and that the residency provided a fertile ground for ideas to grow.