A theatre director and writer, Souleyman Bah was selected for the Nora residency programme, aimed at artists, researchers and culture professionals with refugee status in France. Mr Bah was artist in residence at three centres in France: the Maison Maria Casarès (Charente), the Chartreuse de Villeneuve lez Avignon (Gard) and the Cité du Mot – Prieuré de la Charité-sur-Loire (Nièvre), where he wrote part of his winning text.

Born in 1973 in Conakry, Guinea, Souleyman Bah (also known as Soulay Thiâ’nguel) is a qualified journalist and holds a doctorate in information and communication sciences. He is the founder of the company Grain de Sable, which he has directed since he was forced into exile in France.

The Nora programme offers residencies in heritage sites for culture (CCRs), which are historic monuments reopened to host innovative cultural projects. The programme is coordinated by the ACCR and funded by the French Ministry of Culture and the CCRs themselves. Since its creation in 2016, the programme has enabled 32 artists to take up residencies of between one and six months. These artists come from war zones and work in various fields including the visual arts, cinema, literature, music, landscaping and theatre.

Find out more about the journey of Souleyman Bah and the artists taking part in the 2020 Nora programme.