A few words about your artistic journey

Graduated from the national institute of artistic and cultural training option : music, and the theater school of the Atelier Théâtre Burkinabé ATB, and trained through several training courses of storyteller and actor ; tireless gardener, I sow the seeds of my stories with young and old.

How long have you been an artist ?

I have been a professional artist since 2014.

Why did you apply for this grant ? How will the grant support you ?

I applied for this grant to have more means of creating and promoting my art which is storytelling and above all directing me to a new experiment.

What are your concrete artistic objectives after this residency ?

Have a real space-time of artistic work with quality artistic speakers in order to experiment with new forms, visibility, find channels of dissemination and be able to integrate professional networks.

What did you achieve during this creative residency ? What is the result (created work) ? Who was involved in the creation process ?

Thanks to the grant I received from Africalia, I was able to carry out as many activities as possible during my residency. I was able to create stories with morals, which in my humble opinion helped to raise awareness about COVID. They address the benefits of respecting barrier gestures and the urgency of saving the planet.
My tales were broadcast in street show mode in buses, bus shelters and train stations in the city of Ouagadougou.
In my creative process, I worked with an assistant director and a video director.

How do you think these activities contribute to a reflection on today’s world, in relation to the COVID-19 crisis, and/or on the shaping of the future ?

Tales are stories of yesterday, told by the men of today, for generations to come or as Ahmadou H. Bah used to say : "the tale is useful, futile and instructive". Moreover, being face to face with my audience in the public space, I could see the interest and contributions made by the spectators at the end of each tale. I believe that my project will have contributed to bringing orality to life in these difficult times. We need stories to make our bodies dance, our hands express themselves, our interiors come alive and our consciousness changes. All it takes is just the time to change buses or the trip from one station to another, the time to get to work. A two-minute story can make a mountain move, so surely it has made its contribution to the construction of the future.

How did you feel during the residency ? And at the end of it ?

Throughout the residency I was very happy to work on a project that was close to my heart and with a team that showed me its professionalism and creativity.
At the end of this experience, my joy is even greater and the perspectives await me on the boards.
I was able to realize my project as I dreamed and imagined it. The difficulties encountered in the realization of my work were related to the management of the public : my project is done in the public space. As a performing artist I was able to captivate an audience that each time demanded more. I am fully satisfied with my residency. It has allowed me to have a project that will very soon be realized on a large scale thanks to partners who have loved it and promised to support me.