Djaram’art 2026 and African Vogue
From June 16 to 21, 2026, the “African Vogue” Regional cooperation program held its first general meeting, organized as part of the Djaram’Art International Puppetry Arts Festival in Toubab Dialaw, near Dakar, Senegal.
This meeting allowed the partners to take stock of the project’s progress, which runs through 2028. Representatives from Mali and Guinea-Bissau, as well as a delegation from the ASSITEJ Executive Committee, also took part in the discussions.
To mark the launch of the festival, the Grand Théâtre National de Dakar hosted an international meeting during which festival delegates, Senegalese artists, and representatives from institutions and civil society worked together to identify the conditions necessary for the development of arts for young audiences in the subregion. This meeting received extensive media coverage.
In addition to participating in working sessions, attendees watched performances, met artists and professionals from diverse backgrounds, and took part in the festival’s highlights. These opportunities for exchange fueled discussions on the challenges facing the performing arts for children and young people, while fostering dialogue among the subregion’s various cultural contexts.
ASSITEJ Senegal was also pleased to present to the delegates the results of the “Lambe Lambe” training workshop it had organized with artist Nina Vogel (Brazil) for ten artists from the region. This form of puppetry, which uses recycled materials, allows artists to create and perform for children completely independently, regardless of technical conditions. This technique will be used to produce the “Vogue Africaine” shows in Senegal.
The project’s next general meeting will take place in December 2027 in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, as part of the PAJE festival. In the meantime, training sessions will continue in the various participating countries, with the goal of creating as many shows as possible.