Festival Guest Director: Rokia Traoré

It’s the time of year when the Brighton Festival organisers announce the guest director for the next year and this year the choice is musician Rokia Traoré whose work is rooted in the Malian musical tradition yet defying the confines of a single culture, Malian singer, songwriter and guitarist Rokia Traoré is regarded as one of Africa’s most inventive musicians.

Rokia had a nomadic upbringing that exposed her to a wide variety of musical influences from Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday and Louis Armstrong, to Wagner, Serge Gainsbourg, and the Rolling Stones. A protégé of the legendary guitarist Ali Farka Touré, Rokia’s breakthrough came in 1997 when she was hailed as the ‘African Revelation’ by Radio France Internationale.
Frequently collaborating with world-renowned artists such as Damon Albarn, Devendra Banhart and the Kronos Quartet, Rokia’s diverse output also includes theatre performances, most notably the acclaimed Desdemona by Toni Morrison, a reimagining of Shakespeare’s Othello directed by Peter Sellars.

A remarkable artist

A dedicated humanitarian, in 2009 she set up the Foundation Passerelle in support of emerging artists in Mali.
“I knew Brighton Festival and how well organised it is and being part of the team and exchanging ideas about which artists will be performing and why is an interesting experience for me.  It is an opportunity to take the time to look at and to think about other artists’ work. These are circumstances you cannot usually create when you are working as an artist, but programming a festival is another experience – you do it from a different angle.”
“I’m excited, curious and enthusiastic about the journey. There are lots of things to learn from the city and the audience and the Festival itself and it’s going to be very exciting and rich months spent together.”

Andrew Comben, Chief Executive of Brighton Festival says;  “We are delighted to announce Rokia Traoré as our Guest Director for Brighton Festival 2019. She is a remarkable artist who deserves to be recognised for the great breadth and range of her output. She also has a great preparedness to think beyond her personal practice and engage with and comment upon the world around her – qualities which ideally suit her to the role of Guest Director.