The Lost Maestros – Volume 2
Although Mali is the leading exporter of African music, most of its musical artists record for foreign labels. The Mieruba label was born in 2014 out of a desire to produce local artists and to help them emerge on the national and international scenes.
As a follow-up to the successful first opus, which brought together 8 singers and musicians, volume 2 will put women in the spotlight. The 8 female singers and musicians invited to Ségou for a residency will be accompanied by 7 rising stars of the Malian music scene to record an EP each, with a view to broadcasting on streaming platforms and distributing LPs and CDs internationally. At the end of the residency, they will begin a series of concerts.
A film and a photo report will trace the key moments of the project.
Basketteuses de Bamako
The NAMA Company keeps ancestral traditions alive, ensuring the survival of the art of puppetry and offering young people the opportunity to work in the cultural sector. Among its training courses, some are specifically aimed at women, a first in Mali where the art of puppetry was traditionally reserved for men.
The "Basketteuses de Bamako" project seeks to increase the number of women artists in Mali and to develop their contemporary artistic capacities through professional training, awareness-raising and mediation with the public. The project aims to offer a new mixed and popular artistic practice, an art that restores the traditional know-how of Malian women by innovating it through the practice of juggling.
Remembering our Legends: They left gifts behind: Can we bridge the gap?
The Academy was created in 1995 to preserve, enrich and develop the national cultural heritage of Sierra Leone in the field of music and performing arts. It provides an advanced level of instruction in both music practice and theory, as well as in conducting and directing performances.
Remembering the Legends' initiative is to nurture and encourage the artistic talents of today with a view to their future professionalisation. By introducing the public, especially the younger generation, to the little-known works of former musicians, playwrights, composers, poets and other artists, the project aims to awaken the interest of citizens in the performing arts, and to bring about a reconsideration of the cultural and creative sector as a viable route to a full or part-time career.
Art is Devel@pment
ADPP-GB works to support and empower the most vulnerable populations in Guinea-Bissau. Adapting to the reality of the country and the needs of its communities, the NGO has developed and implemented projects in 4 principal sectors: education, health, rural and community development.
The aim of the "Art is Devel@pment" project is to provide quality moving image education and creative support for existing and emerging artists who would not otherwise have access to technical or financial support to develop their entrepreneurial initiatives. It will also contribute to the digital transition of the cultural and creative sector for a wider distribution of works. Thus, through the arts, the project will work to combat extreme poverty, always with a view to inclusion and gender equality.
"Les Arts-Liances", pan-African contemporary theatre platform
This project responds to a difficulty in distributing theatrical and choreographic works in Africa, while the public's enthusiasm for these performances is still growing. The aim is therefore to create and trace a professional touring circuit for productions that will enable arts performances to tour regularly and meet their audiences. Thus, the "Arts-Liances" project promotes synergy of action between 15 performance spaces in 5 partner countries (Côte d'Ivoire, Benin, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Togo) and encourages co-production, the sharing of best practices and the programming of works created. With an eye on sustainable development, the project aims to be inclusive. It aims to mobilise artists and build audience loyalty.
A look at planned productions
- creation of 15 theatre and choreographic performances
- 180 performances
- consolidation of skills for 75 artists, 30 performance technicians and 30 employees of the performance spaces
- strengthening of technical resources of the 15 partner venues
Focus on Sokan Théâtre
After 20 years of activity, Sokan Théâtre is a cultural association recognised for promoting the arts in general and the performing arts in particular. An organisation in constant evolution, it favours and develops collaborations between artists from the South and the North. Through its achievements and in line with its objectives of inclusion, Sokan Theatre is the initiator of the Pan-African Women's Dramatic Writing Workshop "Femmes en scène".
"SARGAL", promotion of musical heritage
Produced in partnership with the Institut français in Dakar, the "SARGAL" project ("pay tribute" in Wolof) is an artistic television programme that aims to raise awareness of the great names in music by reinterpreting classics from the Senegalese and pan-African musical heritage. By allowing the public to benefit from experience of the creative process and by giving a chance to new talents, "SARGAL" wants to share the taste of live music but also to reveal and train up-and-coming artists in the art of composition, arrangement and musical production. More broadly, this project aims above all to give visibility to the audiovisual sector and its various professions, and to encourage digital inclusion by developing diversified content accessible to all.
A look at planned productions
- creation of 180 jobs
- recruitment of 45 women in production
- 60 people trained after 3 years (20 people per season)
- 45 programmes produced
- 50 international collaborations
Focus on Studio Sankara
Studio Sankara was founded in Dakar in 2003 by rapper Didier Awadi, who was looking for autonomy to carry out his artistic projects. Today, Studio Sankara is a phonographic and audiovisual production agency recognised on the national and international market for its skills, expertise, technical resources and capacity to innovate.
"Les Récréâtrales", pan-African platform for contemporary theatre
Initiated in 2002, the contemporary theatre festival Les Récréâtrales struggled to find its audience. In 2006, it decided to go out and meet them and set up in the Gounghin district of Ouagadougou. Les Récréâtrales set up its stages in family courtyards, instantly involving the local communities. It was an instant success. Thanks to the ACP-EU Culture (West Africa) - AWA programme, Les Récréâtrales intends to develop a digital platform for its creative and educational content and thus support the spread of pan-African contemporary theatre internationally, always with a view to including non-French-speaking theatre (initially Lusophone, Arabic-speaking and English-speaking) and a project for South-South and South-North artistic cooperation.
A look at planned productions
- broadcasting of at least 19 shows, including 10 creations produced or co-produced by the Récréâtrales and 3 non-French language shows
- translation and subtitling of the works presented
- representation of all regions of the African continent during the next two editions of the festival
- setting up a pan-African and international network for the distribution of works
Focus on les Récréâtales
Today the Récréâtrales – Résidences panafricaines d'écriture, de création et de recherche théâtrale (Panafrican theatre writing, creation and research residencies) – form one of the major events in contemporary theatre in French-speaking Africa. Its festival takes place every two years, from February to November, in Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso). It fosters open dialogue within the community and enables citizen engagement and empowermen
"Présence Noire dans la Danse", promotion of dance arts
More than ever, École des Sables wants to maintain its educational role and offer development opportunities to young dancers from the continent. This centre of excellence offers participants local and international artistic career opportunities. However, in order to allow black dancers to reveal themselves and to blossom outside the stereotypes of the dance world, it is essential that this course be given by teachers and researchers from Africa, its diaspora and the West Indies, in a spirit of sharing, dialogue and reciprocal exchange. Moreover, the collaborations between Pan-African dancers will be the fruit of new creations offered to festivals and a touring circuit in Europe, the United States and the world.
A look at planned productions
- Access to certified training for 30 dancers from Africa and the diaspora
- creating and nurturing different work opportunities through original choreographic writing rooted in black identity
- establishing communication tools
Focus on JANT-BI- École des Sables
Founded by Germaine Acogny and Helmut Vogt in 1998, Jant-Bi - École des Sables, the International Centre for Traditional and Contemporary African Dance, aims to provide professional training for African dancers and to develop and promote contemporary African dance. It has already trained over 700 dancers from 27 African countries.
"PAPRICAI+", support for capacity building of the creative business incubator
Based on the unique concept of a tri-polar structural device (e-training, e-support and e-financing platforms), the PAPRICAI+ project aims to strengthen the pedagogical and operational capacities of the PAPRICAI incubator. Through a revitalisation of the entrepreneurial ecosystem and an improvement of the institutional framework of the creative and digital sector in Togo, this project will contribute to the improvement of creativity, professionalisation and competitiveness of artists and creators operating in the digital environment. This ambitious project will ultimately benefit project leaders, entrepreneurial support structures and innovative companies and startups in the cultural and creative sector.
A look at planned productions
- strengthening the structural capacities and competitiveness of the incubator
- boosting the competitiveness of 100 digital start-ups
- creating a community of 20 creative entrepreneurship support structures
- helping to finance 100 innovative creative start-ups
Focus on ADEC
The Agence de Développement des Entreprises Culturelles has a vision of culture as a driver for socio-economic development in developing countries. Equipped with state-of-the-art human and technological resources, it excels in cultural engineering, the promotion and development of creative innovation and entrepreneurship.
"Agir ensemble pour grandir"
The Atelier Nomade houses the École Internationale de Théâtre du Bénin as well as several performance spaces, regular venues for Beninese, Togolese, Burkinabe and Nigerian artists. In addition to the establishment of a permanent, multi-purpose troupe of some twenty talents (directors, actors, dancers, puppeteers, circus artists, etc.), the consolidation and expansion project "Agir ensemble pour grandir " includes the creation of a museum of the performing arts. By working on the synergy between 9 sub-regional theatres (6 in Benin, 1 in Togo, 1 in Niger and 1 in Burkina Faso) and the networking of their cultural content, the project intends to take advantage of the income and move towards financial autonomy, a key objective for true anchoring and sustainability.
A look at planned productions
- creation of a permanent troupe
- opening 12 small format residences and 2 large format residences
- development of a network of cultural operators from 4 neighbouring countries
- creation of a digital platform and an online ticketing service with payment of tickets by telephone
- regular animation of the three stages of the Atelier Nomade
- creation and monetisation of a performing arts museum
Focus on Atelier Nomade
Atelier Nomade opened its doors in 1992. It is now home to the École Internationale de Théâtre du Bénin, a higher education institution that prepares students for a state diploma. The two pillars of its mission are professional training and artistic creation, which enable the cultural and artistic education of young people and local communities. The theatre school often works on themes that contribute to human development and good citizenship.