Scharaun — Project Space for Art and Architecture

Current Exhibition
15. December 2023 — 20. March 2024

Passage — a song. Ouagadougou

Passage — a song. is an exhibition of work by Nigerian-British photographer Akinbode Akinbiyi and South African artist Abrie Fourie both based in Berlin. The project started during the artists' stay at Christoph Schlingensief's Opera Village in Burkina Faso. The exhibition in Ouagadougou is the second stage in a collaboration between the Musée de la Musique Georges OUEDRAOGO in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso and the SCHARAUN project space, Berlin. The curatorial emphasis turns the focus to the idea of sound in photography. What do we hear? Can we hear the stories that emanate from the visual information or are we projecting from our own memories? Can we hear the noise of the place or the deafening silence?

“I can hear the roar of women’s silence.”
— Thomas Sankara

In December 2021, Akinbode Akinbiyi and Abrie Fourie, in the run-up to a coup d’état in Burkina Faso, the artists worked parallel on a photographic investigation of the geography and social topography of Oubritenga & Ouagadougou—considering the dreams manifested by Thomas Sankara then and the reality of the economic malaise of the 21st century. Thomas Sankara is considered “Africa’s Che Guevara”. Despite Sankara’s assassination (1987), the belief in revolutionary renewal is ever present in Burkina Faso.

Curated by Jaro Straub

Opening reception:
Friday, 23 Feb 2024 at 18h

Exhibition:
Café des Arts
9GC8+7CG Rue Weem Doogo, Wemtenga, Ougagdougou

Exhibition at Café des Arts from 16 Feb til 16 March 2024

Opening times:
Every Day from 7-23h

The second part of the exhibition Passage — a song. will take place as a sound installation in the Musée de la Musique Georges OUEDRAOGO from 15 Feb til 5 Mars 2024.

Sound installation
Passage - a song. Notes. 2023
Concept and field recordings Burkina Faso July 2023 by Abrie Fourie
Soundtrack composition by Boris Baltschun

Location:
Musée de la Musique Georges OUEDRAOGO
9FFM+C75 Avenue du Capitaine Thomas Sankara, Koulouba, Ouagadougou

Opening times:
Monday - Friday from 9-15:30h

During the exhibition in Ouagadougou, a series of seven motifs from Passage — a song. will be on display on billboards in the city from February 16 to March 16, 2024. These will be distributed along Avenue Thomas Sankara, thus bringing the discourse to a wider public.
On display are photographs by Akinbode Akinbiyi and Abrie Fourie as well as one billboard with a large-format quote from Thomas Sankara "I can hear the roar of women's silence".

With friendly support by

Senat Department for Culture and Community BERLIN
Goethe Institut
Operndorf Afrika
vision b kunstservice
c-print Berlin

Scharaun is an interdisciplinary project space for art and architecture in Berlin Siemensstadt.The exhibition space is located in an apartment complex from the 1930s, which was built by the architect Hans Scharoun for the workers of the nearby Siemens factories. Together with his wife Aenne, Scharoun lived and worked in an apartment inside the same building from 1930 to 1960.

01 Kitchen

Although no photographs of the kitchen in its original state have survived, due to its limited dimension, it is to be assumed that a Frankfurt kitchen was installed. In later projects Scharoun continuously used the compact built-in model of a kitchen. The original floor plan also shows that a hatch or passageway to the dining area, which later maybe got rebuild.

02 Living space

The east-west oriented living room is illuminated from the flower window as well as from the balcony. The "durchgesteckte Zimmer" replaced the classic corridor supply. The room was originally divided into dining and living area, with the dining area located directly in front of the flower window.

03 Bathroom

The original floor plan shows that Scharoun planned the bathroom including the bathtub. What seems normal today was a rare luxury in 1930, which was only made possible by the local block heating station (Blockheizkraftwerk) supplying the house. Due to the central heat supply, the previously standard charcoal stove becomes obsolete.

04 Children's room / Archive

The room labeled as "Kammer" in the original floor plan, must have been used as a children's room in most cases. By today's standards, 12 square meters for a children's room are rather scarce, but in co-use with the spacious living area, the concept offers adequate individual space for every family member.

05 Bedroom

The spacious bedroom has direct access to the loggia. The window front offers a straight view of the Jungfernheideweg and the small park area in front of the building designed by landscape architect Leberecht Migge.

06 Flower window

The generous flower window connects the green courtyard – the outer – with the interior zone of the apartment. Scharoun's use of the flower window was not only based on an aesthetic consideration, but also increased a quality for the apartment in terms of both energy and room climate.

07 Loggia

The enclosed loggia is accessible from both the living room and the bedroom, thus extending the living area.