One cannot miss him in a crowd: tall, with greying, wavy hair up to his shoulders, the man exudes convivial energy. And more often than not, one will catch him mid-hug or cheery hello. Helmut Schippert has become a familiar face in Chennai’s vibrant arts and culture milieu over the past six years .
Even now, he laments (on a call, from Berlin) that he will not be able to invite guests and have a “proper” farewell party, given the situation.
Boasting an impressive 35-years at Goethe-Institut, Germany’s cultural centre, Schippert has been actively invoved in the city ever since he began his stint as director. The Chennai centre, this year, completes 60 illustrious years in the field of German language education and cultural arts. In India, the institute offers language courses across Bengaluru, Kolkata, Mumbai, Delhi and Pune, apart from Chennai.
“And now I am leaving at such strange times that the first moments are very ‘present’ again. Sometimes, it plays out like a film,” he says.
Schippert distinctly remembers his first Museum Theatre play. It was a Tamil production which went on for a few hours. He laughs adding it was a fascinating experience; that too, in his first week in the city. He confesses that before he moved, he used to spend time listening to Carnatic music in preparation for Chennai, and its culture.
Schippert started working with the Goethe-Institut as early as 1985, and has had a career spanning many locations: Cairo, Paris, Munich and Mexico. Ask him his favourite place, and he stops the question midway to say that each place has had its own situational effect on him. “The first two months were kind of dream-like for me. I came from a different world in Mexico. Starting from the traffic to life in town, I was sort of in a trance,” says Helmut.
Soon enough, warming up to the city, he also realised Chennai’s strong hold on the traditional arts.
“As for the contemporary arts, very soon, I thought there weren’t many physical spaces [of performance],” says Schippert. This, along with a few other observations, led him to explore how Goethe-Institut could inch closer to existing realities.
One such reality was the deteriorating condition of Chennai’s lakes and rivers; Schippert took an interest in promoting awareness on the sustainable management of water bodies.
“Through my perception of the general ecological problems in Chennai, I thought water management might be a good theme to look at,” he recalls.
This led to many projects under the umbrella of ‘Embracing Our Rivers’, an artistic venture that encouraged dialogue on water in urban spaces, which started in 2015. “When you work with arts and culture, you believe that artistic thought brings new answers and opens up spaces for alternatives,” he says.
Schippert spent his last six years of service in Chennai
Goethe-Institut has for the past few years also taken an interest in collaborative musical events. To the question if this has something to do with the fact that he plays the piano and guitar, Schippert laughs. “We try to arrange residencies or meetings of musicians from very different backgrounds and work on improvisations on creating something new,” he says.
The South Asian Music Residency in collaboration with AR Rahman’s KM Music Conservatory is a testament to this idea. The residency has taken place thrice in the city.
Another project that remains close to his heart, is the Chennai Photo Biennale founded with Chennai Photo Biennale Foundation, which launched in 2016 and is growing steadily in size and stature every year with the ambition of putting Chennai on the global map as a potential centre for contemporary arts and photography. He hopes to continue this collaboration as a well wisher.
But, moving forward, there are things to be done: For starters, “A grand piano (Steinway from 1895) and two guitars are eagerly waiting for me,” he says. Living for some time without any plans, obligations and daily responsibilties is also on the agenda. Schippert also hopes to engage in the fight against the climate catastrophe, in whatever capacity. “Also, in the future, I need days with more than 24 hours!”
