Alif Naaba is an artist from Burkina Faso who has been successful at MASA 2014. He was present as well at the MASA 2018 as a cultural operator, to meet performing arts professionals as part of his cultural activities in Burkina Faso.
Why are you at MASA 2018 ?
I am here as an artist, as a professional, but also as the director of the Naaba Court, my label. This because the MASA represents a meeting place for other professionals and our network friends. It is an occasion for us to reinforce our address book with new members. It is only natural that I am here because it is an important meeting in the sub-region.
You carry on several cultural projects in Burkina Faso, if you have to make a relationship with this year’s MASA theme (What economic models for the performing arts), what will you say ?
For me, it is necessary to develop a model that adapts to the world’s evolution. There are several things in it. We try to develop training modules in my « Paon’go » space in Burkina, a cultural space, an artistic residence. We develop modules on the arts and we are particularly interested in music because I work in this area. We use new technologies, internet, to see how to adapt to the changes in the market. All of these models are part of the economic model we are talking about at MASA. We are in a dynamic where artists need to be structured, organized and know what their targets and markets are. We become an incubator that allows professionals to meet in Ouagadougou, to train. In April, we had a meeting that brought together many African countries to allow our artists to sell better.
What are you preparing for African music lovers ?
I’m preparing my 5th album that will normally be released in the period of June-July. This is one of the reasons for my presence here. I was talking about updating the network. The network is also the Ivorian media, journalists so that when the time comes, our machine is running like a train that gets on track.
Interview conducted by SANOU A