The artists behind this year’s festival are staging a renaissance.
Fez– At a press conference that felt more like a gathering of visionaries than a formal event, the creative minds behind a groundbreaking festival came together to present a powerful message: art is not just surviving, it’s constantly reinventing itself.
And at the heart of this year’s theme, “Renaissance,” lies a deep desire to celebrate cultural diversity in a world increasingly leaning toward sameness.
“This isn’t about delivering a message with a capital M,” Alain Weber the artistic director noted.
“It’s about showing, through this concept of rebirth, that human expression remains deeply varied, even as our world grows more uniform.”
The artists emphasized how each culture, despite its uniqueness, draws from similar sources of inspiration, particularly nature and the sacred.
From ancient rituals to major religious traditions, the sacred has always been a bridge across civilizations. And this was performed.
The show, which the team described as “audacious,” wove together starkly different traditions.
Ancestral African rituals, once labeled “animist,” deeply tied to forest spirits, animals, and possession, were placed in direct dialogue with the refined mysticism of Sufi music.
“The challenge,” Weber explained, “was transitioning from one to the other without shocking the audience. They are radically different, yet there’s a common thread: spiritual inspiration.”
Pushing boundaries even further, Weber explained how the show closed with digital mapping sequences inspired by traditional African fabric patterns.
Not just a visual spectacle, this decision carried symbolic weight. “Those motifs at the end? They came from the ‘pagne’, because African culture is constantly renewing itself”.
“Africa is at the forefront of contemporary creation, especially in painting. We wanted to show how the original inspiration still flows through generations.”
To move forward, we always have to look back. That’s why the theme is Renaissance. And that’s what was showcased during the first night.
While the room was filled with reflections on cultural continuity, the creators made one thing clear: this was, before anything else, about making something beautiful.
The show had a message, yes. But more than anything, it was about crafting a poetic experience for the audience.
This gathering was a reminder that human creativity, rooted in memory and the sacred, continues to surprise, and connect us all.
