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Antje Schupp & Kieron Jina

May & June 2025

Ingrid and Joyce are not related. But both approach life with joy as a principle of coping with life. The director, performer and author Antje Schupp and the multidisciplinary artist Kieron Jina are in residence at HELLERAU and are working on a new project. "Life of Joy" is a cross-generational project in which Kieron's grandmother Joyce (80 years old) and Antje's aunt Ingrid (92 years old), who grew up on different continents but have parallels in their lives, 'meet'. Even though they cannot meet physically, they are connected in their attitude to life: through positivity, precisely because they know the dangerous sides of life. Ingrid survived the bombing of Dresden in 1945, Joyce survived apartheid rule. Now that they are old and approaching death, both still have a remarkable zest for life. Antje Schupp and Kieron Jina plan to use documentary means, narratives and reflections on female perspectives to develop a performance in which the energy of Ingrid and Joyce can be felt by the audience and in which they encounter each other.

Biography

Biography Image

Photo: James Bantone

Kieron Jina, known as Afrohomo and DJ Kiki Mon Ami, is a courageous queer professional provocateur and multidisciplinary artist. Kieron Jina is mainly involved in performance art, visual art, theatre making and conscious DJ-ing, supported by a background in film. Jina's work addresses issues such as Afrofuturism, sexuality, migration, climate change, new technologies, indigenous cultural practices, site-specific performances and interdisciplinary creative approaches. Jina is committed to celebrating and honouring ancestors through the spectrum of art and dance.

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Biography

Biography Image

Photo: Andreas Tobias

Antje Schupp is a director, performer, author and lecturer. Her artistic practice is characterised by the diversity of her productions - performances, dance projects, site-specific works, operas, theatre plays. She is interested in political, ecological and social issues and combines different stylistic elements to create multi-layered narratives. She has directed at the Kaserne Basel, the Schauspielhaus Zurich, the Neumarkt Theatre and the Burgtheater Vienna, among others, and has performed at festivals such as the Zürcher Theater Spektakel, Berliner Theatertreffen, Impulse Festival and Genève Genève.

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Credits

This project is supported by the Swiss Arts Council Johannesburg.