Since 2006 the Origen dance and music festival has been developing the mountain village of Riom and surrounding places as stages outside established venues. A medieval castle and a historic barn were converted into venues and, in addition to annually changing locations in the region, form the two main venues of the festival. Starting with the Origen Festival, a transformation process is taking place in the region that is converting vacant buildings and developing them for new uses. On the Julier Pass, the Julierturm was created as a temporary concert and dance venue, which after 5 years of use will soon be replaced by a new building project in Mulegns, neighbouring Riom - the White Tower.
The Origen Festival was the destination of an Ornamenta field trip in July 2022. On Friday evening, the Ornamenta group set off on a special bus provided by PostBus for festival visitors to the Julier Pass, where after a 50-minute drive the Juliertum emerged from the fog. In the Julierturm, a temporary theatre built by Origen, the BAYBLON-SONGS by the young pianist and composer Kirill Richter was performed that night.
The following Saturday, the participants of the study trip were able to visit other venues during a walk through Riom with Head of organisation and development and long-time Origen member Philipp Bühler. This exchange about the history and development of a cultural festival in a rural area was particularly valuable for Ornamenta with regard to the districts of the Nordschwarzwald region.
In Mulgens, a few kilometres away, another Origen building project is currently under construction - the Weisse Turm. Developed in collaboration with the ETH Zurich, another venue is being built in the immediate vicinity of the historic Weisse Villa in Mulegns, a community with a only dozen remaining residents. In the run-up to a lecture on the current status of the building project, the group met with the festival management. In the renovated rooms of the Weissem Villa, Ornamenta was presented followed by a discussion with the director, Dr. Giovanni Netzer, about development and cooperation possibilities.
