Elpida Orfanidou

›Songtellers‹ is an encounter between a small group of guests and the artist Elpida Orfanidou. In the stark yet intimate setting of a signal box, formerly used to route and coordinate railway trains at the Zollverein mining complex, Orfanidou weaves the experiences of migration, parting and love expressed in Greek traditional songs with personal biographies and family herstories. As a journey of sound, song and storytelling, ›Songtellers‹ proposes a layering of different experiences of the here and now, as a way to complexify notions of identity and belonging.

Conception & Performance: Elpida Orfanidou Dramaturgy & Sound: Marialena Marouda Composition: Tassos Stamou Coaching in Traditional Greek Singing: Antigoni Stappa Coaching in Voice Somatics: Johanna Peine, Anna Weissenfels Paintings & Ceramics: Tante Effi

Many thanks to Renate, Leon Dohr, Danae Gemenaki, Stelios Stafetos, Bandonion Freunde Essen and Lena Mai.