Hello, my name is Othman Daf, I am 25 years old, and I am a student at IESA arts&culture in the direct 3rd year of the Bachelor in Cultural Production and Mediation, specializing in performing arts.
What were you doing before joining the IESA arts&culture program?
Before IESA I was planning to become a professional athlete, but I had a serious injury and changed direction toward culture because I was an artist and made music. I created my association for a purely selfish purpose: to get on stage in the first place. Then I ended up enjoying being in the process of creating events, so I headed toward the profession of cultural event producer. I did a production officer program at CIFAP in Montreuil. I received a diploma awarded by IESA arts&culture.
Why did you choose IESA arts&culture?
I realized that during my program there was a lot of theory and not enough practice, so I decided to enroll at IESA arts&culture directly in the third year because there was support on a full-scale project, setting up your own project with the school’s guidance, and alongside that there was an internship arranged through the school. These were things I liked and that made me want to enroll.
How do you find your entry into direct Bachelor 3?
The direct B3 curriculum is quite tough, because there are the second-year catch-up courses and the third-year courses. So we have two curricula in one year, which is quite complicated. However, we are a small group in direct B3, about ten, and being few allows us to be much more supportive and to help one another, whether with revision, projects or files; we help each other with just about everything. Alongside that we have the support of the professors, so I am quite satisfied with this year in direct B3.
What is your PGR (full-scale project)?
As for my PGR, that is, my full-scale project, which is supported by the school, it is an urban culture festival with an exclusively female lineup. There is a music component with two concerts and sixteen artists, and an audiovisual component where we will screen films and hold debates on the place of women in Hip-Hop and urban culture; we will also invite quite a few rap music video directors such as Leila Sy, for example. There is a dance component split into two parts: there will be a dance battle with beginner crews and a big dance show. We also have a street-art component with an exhibition and artists such as Vinie from Toulouse, and live performances, most likely with Posca markers since it will be indoors.
What is your professional plan after IESA arts&culture?
So, my professional plan: if my PGR is a success, I intend to continue down this path and keep putting on artistic cultural projects, but always with a social dimension, and alongside that I would also like to produce artists.
What did IESA arts&culture bring you in carrying out the latter?
As for the support IESA gave me, it is quite substantial, since we get the professors' advice, and we build a network of contacts among artists, venues, places and festivals to contact for possible partnerships, advice, and so on. And that is why I chose IESA: from my very first contacts with IESA, even before I enrolled, they immediately advised me, let me talk about my project, gave me advice and contacts. Then there is this support throughout the year on the various projects.
