Venue: HfS Ernst Busch

The renowned puppeteers present their company NAMA from Mali and their training program for puppeteers

The puppeteers Yacouba Magassouba and Boucary Ombotimbe are at the HfS Ernst Busch for a month to present their puppet company NAMA. Founded in Bamako in 2010, the company has its roots in Sogobò - the appearance of animals. Using masks, giant animal figures, dance and music, stories from the world of the gods and everyday life are portrayed. NAMA takes up this tradition, develops it further and is now an important part of the West African puppet theater scene. In addition to its artistic work and international touring, the company offers a training program specifically for female puppeteers.

In addition to class visits and a public lecture on May 16 at 7 pm at the university, Yacouba Magassouba and Boucary Ombotimbe will be visiting the Fidena Festival in Bochum together with the puppetry department of the HfS Ernst Busch.

Director and puppeteer Yacouba Magassouba learned the art of puppetry from his uncle and puppeteer Yaya Coulibaly. As a member of the Compagnie SOGOLON and the Handspring Puppet Company, Yacouba Magassouba has performed at numerous festivals in Burkina Faso, Spain, Belgium, France, Luxembourg, Martinique, Ivory Coast, Benin, Central Africa, Togo, Niger and Germany. In 2010, Yacouba Magassouba founded the NAMA company, which combines puppetry, dance and masks. He is also the founder of a training program aimed specifically at young women. Yacouba Magassouba has been the director of ACMUR (association arts, clown, marionnettes et musiques dans nos rues) since 2013. The association organizes the Rendez-Vous Chez Nous festival in Bamako and also offers training opportunities for artists.

Boucary Ombotimbe is a versatile artist from Mali who has made a name for himself as an actor, playwright, writer, director, puppeteer and filmmaker. Boucary Ombotimbe is a fixture on the Malian art scene and enriches Mali's cultural landscape through his performances as a puppeteer and his cinematic and literary works. After graduating from the Institut National des Arts de Bamako, he joined the NAMA theater group as a puppeteer and director. As Secretary General of the Mali section of UNIMA (union internationale de la marionnette), he promotes the art of puppetry and helps to strengthen its recognition.