SPAfrica

The project examines how capitalism is connected to racism and how empathy can support extractivism – the plundering of natural resources. Julian Hetzel and Ntando Cele have joined forces to explore the limits, or paradox, of empathy, which, instead of transforming or overcoming the interests of power structures, strengthens the existing privileges of the one percent. The performance SPAfrica reveals problematic and unseen mechanisms and hidden racism by staging a transaction of resources between Europe and Africa, an exchange of “liquid empathy” – tears – for precious drinking water from sub-Saharan regions: SPAfrica – the world’s first ‘empathy drink’! In the heart of Europe, tears are cultivated to be transferred into a water source in Africa. The project juxtaposes the exploitation of natural and emotional resources and exposes neoliberal strategies in the search for alternative raw materials. Hetzel and Cele ask how the capitalization of intangible assets, such as identity or cultural background, actually works. On the international art market, the cultural background and identity of protagonists have become valuable resources for the creation of value. Will trauma be the new gold of art?

Julian Hetzel is a performer, musician, and visual artist. Born in Germany, he currently lives in Utrecht, the Netherlands. He studied visual communication at Bauhaus University Weimar and in 2013 completed DasArts Amsterdam, an artistic research laboratory for new forms of theatre and performance art. His work is characterized by a political dimension and a documentary approach, and it is produced internationally and has been presented in more than 20 countries worldwide. In 2017, Hetzel received the VSCD-Mimeprijs Award for The Automated Sniper (produced by Frascati Producties and Ism & Heit). His play All Inclusive (2018, co-produced with CAMPO) was part of the official selection of the 2019 Dutch Theatre Festival, and Mount Average (2020, co-produced with CAMPO) was part of the official selection of the same festival in 2021. Hetzel’s production SELF was the national contribution of the Netherlands at the Prague Quadrennial in 2019, and in August 2019 he presented three works at the Venice Theatre Biennale. Julian Hetzel is an associate artist at Kunstencentrum CAMPO in Ghent and a founding member of the electro-pop band Pentatones.

Ntando Cele is a director, performer, and theatre maker. She comes from South Africa, where in 2001 she graduated from Durban University of Technology in Dramatic Studies and between 2009 and 2012 earned a master’s degree in Theatre Studies at DAS Theater Amsterdam. Since 2013, Ntando Cele has lived in Bern, developing theatre and performance projects both in South Africa and Europe. Her work uniquely and virtuously dissolves the boundaries between physical theatre, video installation, stand-up comedy, and performance. Under the umbrella of her artistic collective Manaka Empowerment Prod, Ntando Cele playfully and charmingly explores questions of identity, racism, and stereotypes. Through various perspectives, using friendly provocation and (self-)irony, she speaks about what society often remains silent on. In 2023, she received a Swiss award for promoting diversity as well as the Swiss Performing Arts Awards.

“Clever, complex, provocative, and at the same time immensely entertaining and funny”
– Theater der Zeit, Teresa Schütz

Duration: 90 min
In English
Surtitles in Czech 

Concept: Julian Hetzel and Ntando Cele
Direction: Julian Hetzel
Performance: Ntando Cele
Dramaturgy: Miguel A. Melgares
Artistic advisor: Sodja Lotker, Khanyisile Mbongwa
Music & composition: Frank Wienk
Light design: Nico de Rooij
Technical coordination: Vincent Beune, Aengus Havinga
Technicians: Tom Doeven, Simon Kelaita, Bea Verbeek, Wout Jansen
Technical solutions: Merijn Versnel, Guido Bevers
Production manager: Marieke van den Bosch
Production Cape Town: Lungile Mbongwa
Galerist Cape Town: Mpilo Ngcukana
Production assistant: Jana Riese
Assistant costume designer: Merel van Erpers Roijaards
Mask artist: Carly Heathcote
Make-up artist: Julia Markow
Prop maker: Saskia Hartog
Intern: Piet van Duijn Ferreira
Video documentation: Reynold Reynolds, Bongeka Ngcobo
Video performer: Revé Terborg
Photography: Alexandra Masmanidi, Anouk Maupu

Special thanks to the voluntears and the local hosts of the artist talk.