In the commercial heart of Abidjan (Le Plateau district), an MC announces the next MASA event in the courtyard of the Institut Français de Côte d’Ivoire – a key example of post-independence Tropical Brutalism. Raw exposed concrete sunshades and bold geometric volumes were characteristic of 1970s public architecture in West Africa.
At CAPACOA, we help bring international opportunities to presenters and artists by participating in international engagements that build meaningful connections across the globe.
In this issue of Notes From the Road, Gabrielle Martin, Artistic Director at PuSh International Performing Arts Festival, offers a glimpse into the Abidjan African Arts and Performance Market (MASA) and highlights the work of Faso Danse Théâtre and Serge Aimé Coulibaly.
Gabrielle’s Reflection
| In April, I travelled to Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, as part of CAPACOA’s delegation to the Marché des Arts du Spectacle Africain (MASA). What stays with me most is how essential being there was—not simply to discover work for possible presentation, though I encountered several productions I would be thrilled to share with PuSh audiences, but to deepen my understanding of the conditions in which artistic creation, production, and dissemination take place. From a Western / Canadian perspective, it is impossible to grasp from a distance the nuances produced by intersecting cultural practices, politics, aesthetics, and place. Attending MASA added another layer to how I situate Canadian practice internationally and how I might better welcome artists from the African continent and contextualize their work for audiences here. MASA felt like a vital gathering and space of exchange. Its curatorial team—international artists and arts leaders with deep knowledge of performance across the continent—assembled an exceptional program. Moving among venues throughout Abidjan, I had beautiful connections with artists from Burundi, Nigeria, Mozambique, and many other places, while experiencing the breadth of work being created and circulated. Sharing the journey with CAPACOA colleagues made the experience particularly rich: we navigated a maze of venues together, exchanged responses to what we saw, and helped one another find our way—and occasionally find late-night food. |
Artist Highlight: Faso Danse Théâtre & Serge Aimé Coulibaly
| An absolute highlight was C la Vie by Faso Danse Théâtre, created by Burkinabè choreographer and festival director Serge Aimé Coulibaly, who works between Burkina Faso and Belgium. I had followed Coulibaly’s work for some time but had never experienced it live. Conceived as a public square inhabited by seven dancers, a singer, and a percussionist, C la Vie asks a question of profound contemporary urgency: how can we truly be together? Through dance, live vocals, and percussion, the work unfolds as an initiatory journey shaped by encounter—with one another, with time, with music, and with a world undergoing profound change. It had been some time since I had experienced dance with live music at this scale, and the effect was powerfully transportive. The performance generated something close to a collective trance, holding joy, community, and hope as ways of meeting crisis. MASA reminded me that international engagement is not only about identifying what might tour. It is about expanding the contexts through which we understand art, cultivating relationships, and becoming more attentive hosts and interpreters when work travels across cultures. Gabrielle Martin Artistic Director, PuSh International Performing Arts Festival |
