portraits
Portrait
Theatre

Hassane Kassi Kouyaté

The important thing is culture. I defend a French-speaking culture of flesh, creation, dialogue and sharing.

In January 2019, Hassane Kassi Kouyaté took up the position of director of the French-speaking Culture Festival in Limousin, Limoges. He is currently preparing the programme for the 35th edition of the flagship French-speaking Culture Festival, which will take place from 25 September to 5 October 2019.

Updated on 04/05/2022

2 min

Born in Burkina Faso in 1964, Hassane Kassi Kouyaté has been immersed in the artistic world from an early age, first and foremost by his father, the great comedian Sotigui Kouyaté, as well as by his brothers, one a director, the other an actor. He perfects the different arts that are close to his heart in both Africa and France, such as storytelling, writing, comedy, production and music.

A skilled artist, trainer and creator of events, Hassane Kassi Kouyaté initiated the International Festival of Yeleen Tales in Burkina Faso in 1996. With more than 40 shows to which he has contributed as an actor, author or director, he defends a committed, multicultural theatre that is as open to the contemporary world as to the preservation of memory.

Hassane Kassi Kouyaté is a multifaceted artist with multiple activities spread across the entire planet. In addition to the festivals he runs in Burkina Faso and his company Deux Temps Trois Mouvements, responsible for creating the Tropiques Atrium national stage in Paris and which he has directed since 2014 in Martinique, he continues to provide stories and training as a professional actor and storyteller in addition to his writing activities.

A common feature of these many projects is the deep desire to engage and the wish to share and convey a certain idea of humanity through culture and music.

In addition to Burkina Faso and France, the productions and training around the story of Hassane Kassi Kouyaté are shown in many countries in Africa, Latin America and Europe. 

For his first programme for the French-speaking Culture Festival in Limousin in 2019 entitled “Les Francophonies – Des écritures à la scène” (“French speakers - Scriptwriters”), Hassane Kassi Kouyaté foresees two highlights, "Les Zébrures d’automne” (“The Streaks of Autumn”) and "Les Zébrures du printemps” (“The Streaks of Spring”); these metaphoric streaks symbolise the combination of cultures and ideas. This autumn, the festival will bring together authors and artists from all over the world, including France, Belgium, Israel, Canada, Benin, Réunion, Senegal, Morocco, Martinique, Sans Salvador and Croatia.

  • 1994

    1994

    Hassane Kassi Kouyaté plays at the French-speaking Culture Festival in Limousin in The Wagadu Legend as seen by Sia Yataberé, by Moussa Diagana and directed by Patrick Le Mauff.

  • 2000

    2000

    He is a dramatic designer for the staging of L'Arbre in Palabres as part of the Universal Exhibition in Hanover, Germany.

  • 2002

    2002

    Hassane Kassi Kouyaté takes on the role of comedian for Peter Brook at the Théâtre des Bouffes du Nord in Paris.

  • 2014

    2014

    He is appointed Director of the Tropiques Atrium National Stage in Martinique.

  • 2019

    2019

    Hassane Kassi Kouyaté heads up the French-speaking Culture Festival in Limousin, in Limoges.

The Institut français and the project

The French-speaking Culture Festival in Limousin is supported by the Institut français and Nouvelle-Aquitaine Region convention.

The Institut français partners with local authorities to develop international artistic exchanges. Find out more about project assistance programmes in partnership with local authorities here.

L'institut français, LAB