The 13th edition of the Abidjan Performing Arts Market (Masa) is set to take place from April 13th to April 30th, 2024. The theme for this edition revolves around “youth, innovation, and entrepreneurship.” A total of one hundred artists from Europe, Africa, and the Americas have been selected, with the announcement made public on December 14, 2023, in Abidjan. Masa aims to provide a platform for the expression of young African creators.
Established as a biennial celebration of live arts for three decades, Masa has chosen 63 artistic proposals spanning storytelling, dance, theater, and comedy. This format serves as an avenue for artists to showcase their work and potentially secure opportunities to sell their creations to artistic directors or distributors.
A recurrent theme at the heart of the festival is gender parity. Hassane Kassi Kouyaté, the chair of the international artistic committee, explains, “65% of the proposals focus on women and their conditions, whether it be men performing, writing, or directing. The concern is deeply rooted in these issues. Furthermore, we observe that creators on our continent are increasingly eager to integrate new technologies into their creations.”
Simultaneously, the Masa festival presents works from around thirty groups hailing from all corners of the globe. The objective is to make these performances accessible to a broader and younger audience. Abou Kamaté, the general director of Masa, notes, “While we have stages where the audience comes to us, we also believe that it should be a two-way street. Creativity should reach the audiences interested in it, allowing us to broaden this spectrum.”
The audience will have the opportunity to discover the Ivorian comedian Le Magnific and witness the latest production from the Scène Cirque company. The Masa festival continues to evolve as a dynamic platform, combining tradition with innovation and fostering a diverse and inclusive space for artistic expression.