Being in Abidjan for the first time and having the chance to experience the MASA not only as a producer but also as a presenting company was truly moving. This event is not merely a market. It is a living ecosystem. And what struck me most, walking those immense grounds day after day, wasn't the official programming alone—it was the in-between.
This May, I am writing to you from a place of deep inspiration after returning from the 14th edition of the “Marché des Arts du Spectacle d’Abidjan” (MASA), which took place from April 11 to 18 in the vibrant heart of Côte d’Ivoire. It was an extraordinary week when Abidjan truly became the capital of living arts in Africa, bringing together over 150 artistic groups and 712 professionals from across the globe.
Being in Abidjan for the first time and having the chance to experience the MASA not only as a producer but also as a presenting company was truly moving. This event is not merely a market. It is a living ecosystem. And what struck me most, walking those immense grounds day after day, wasn’t the official programming alone—it was the in-between.
MASA is mostly for and by adults, programmers, producers and artists, negotiating and networking. But this year, something shifted. For the first time, MASA included a dedicated strand of performances for young audiences. Not a side event. Not a workshop. Real shows are programmed into the main marketplace.
But in fact, children were everywhere. Not orchestrated, not just brought in by school buses for a single morning. They were present across the whole event—curious, eager, bringing that kind of raw, unschooled energy you can’t manufacture.
And then, the young artists of Africa. What can I say that does them justice? Their talent is breathtaking. Just to name a couple of examples: Didier Mukalayi Maloba and Didier Ediho’s “Le Chemin de la Rumba”—a piece tracing rumba from its Congolese roots to the Americas and back—that, for me, reopened an emotional memory.
The reference to Cuba flows naturally here: because the rumba that “Le Chemin de la Rumba” traces was never just Congolese and evokes the spirit of our ASSITEJ Congress in Cuba (2024), where Havana’s vibrant streets resonated with the living history of that very journey. Watching this piece in Abidjan, I felt that same rhythm again, looping back across the Atlantic. That’s the ecosystem I mean: art that refuses to stay in one place, that makes its own cartography.
Another impressive performance was Compagnie N’Soleh’s “On descend à la rue Princesse”, an extraordinary contemporary dance piece that resurrects the pulse of a demolished Abidjan street with fourteen dancers, a live drummer, and nothing but raw urban energy. They carry two centuries in one body. Traditional never as museum piece — traditional as fuel. Contemporary never as imported fashion — contemporary as necessity.
So yes, MASA 2026 opened a real door for young audiences. And the children walked through it—curious, eager, bringing their own electricity. The young artists of Africa showed us what happens when tradition meets the present without apology. That is not a future we wait for. It is already here. For Africa. For our planet. For anyone who believes theatre for the young is a living, breathing force.
Looking forward to the 15th MASA in 2028, when the final meeting for our ASSITEJ Regional Cooperation Programme will take place: AFRICAN VOGUE – a project that involves ASSITEJ‘s National Centres from Senegal, Burkina Faso, and Côte d’Ivoire.
A bientôt!
