Turning a Vision into an Unforgettable Event

Artistic Direction as a Creative & Strategic Act

Event Artistic direction, at its highest level, is not about managing a programme, it is about creating a world. Every major event carries within it a set of intentions that go far beyond the performance itself: a political vision, a cultural statement, a collective memory to be built, a legacy to be left. The artistic director's role is to translate those intentions into a coherent artistic language — one that speaks simultaneously to the audience in the hall, the audience watching from home, and the generations who will look back on what was created.

I approach every artistic direction mandate with the same foundational questions: What does this event want to say? Who is it speaking to? What should it leave behind? From those answers, a complete artistic vision is constructed — and then executed with the full rigour of professional production.

The process, from vision to stage:

1. Artistic vision & concept development
   Definition of the overarching artistic narrative, thematic framework and aesthetic direction. Creation of the conceptual brief that will guide every creative decision that follows.
2. Scenario & script writing
   If there is no pre-existing scenario, I propose it myself for the event — its arc, its sequences, its emotional rhythm, its spoken or performed narrative thread—a timed working document at the service of all the other co-creators (director, set designer, composer, choreographer, videographer, lighting designer, pyrotechnician, mapmaker, ...)
3. Artistic casting & repertoire selection
   Selection of artists, ensembles, soloists, actors, musicians, dancers, performers and works — always in response to the specific demands of the event, its scale, its audience and its cultural context.
4. Creating music, choreography, videos, images and fireworks
   Original works created specifically for the event, ensuring coherence and artistic distinctiveness across the entire programme.
5. Production coordination
   Artistic oversight of all production elements — choreography, staging, lighting, video, scenography, technical direction — ensuring that every component serves the artistic vision.
6. Rehearsal direction & final delivery
   Direct artistic supervision of all rehearsals, from individual sectionals to full technical run-throughs, through to opening night and beyond.

What can be commissioned:

• Opening and closing ceremonies for major sporting, cultural or institutional events
• National and international cultural festivals
• Galas, state concerts and diplomatic cultural events
• Large-scale interdisciplinary productions combining music, dance, theatre and multimedia
• Orchestra and ensemble programmes
• Ongoing artistic direction for performing arts organisations

Large-Scale Events

Orchestre des Jeunes d'Algérie — Artistic Director (2018–2023)

Founded by me in 2018, the Orchestre des Jeunes d'Algérie (OJA) was conceived not simply as a youth orchestra, but as a complete artistic and educational platform — a space where musical training, repertoire ambition, community life and public performance were integrated into a single, coherent vision.

As Artistic and Music Director for six years, I defined the OJA's artistic identity from the ground up: its repertoire philosophy (spanning Baroque to contemporary Algerian composition), its audition model (national, open, inclusive), its pedagogical framework and its public programming. Under his direction, the OJA performed approximately 20 concerts across Algeria and internationally — from open-air squares to the Opening Ceremony of the Mediterranean Games — and was cited by UNESCO as a model of civil society partnership in Algeria's 2020 Quadrennial Periodic Report on the 2005 Convention.

Five national sessions · 300+ musicians trained · 20 concerts · International recognition

19th Mediterranean Games, Oran 2022 — Artistic Director of Ceremonies & Cultural Activities

Appointed President of the Commission for Opening & Closing Ceremonies and Cultural Activities of the 19th Mediterranean Games (Oran, June 25 – July 6, 2022), I served simultaneously as General Manager, Artistic Director, Screenwriter, Composer and Conductor of both ceremonies — one of the most complex and ambitious artistic mandates undertaken by a single creative director in recent Algerian cultural history.

The ceremonies were conceived as two complete artistic works — not simply sporting preambles, but sovereign cultural statements. I wrote the dramatic scenarios, defined the aesthetic universe, selected and directed all artistic contributors, composed and arranged the full musical programme, and conducted the live symphonic orchestra throughout both events.

Scale & production:

• 1,500 participants — artists, technicians and staff across both ceremonies
• 400 dancers and performers (opening) · 125 (closing)
• 90-110 musicians — live symphonic orchestra on a 52-metre
• 500 synchronised drones — choreographed aerial display, a technological first for Algeria
• 110 × 70m reflective screen and full-field video mapping
• 52,000-seat stadium · Live broadcast in 4K on 20+ national and international channels (ENTV, AL24, beIN Sports, Eurosport, ZDF…)

The cultural programme — 18 parallel cultural activities before, during and after the Games — was also conceived, planned and overseen by me, spanning cinema, literature, visual arts, street art, anthropology, traditional music, theatre and tourism. The programme mobilised:

• 600+ Algerian and international artists, authors and technicians
• 60,000+ spectators
• 300+ hours of performance (theatre, dance, music and cinema)

Presse

"(The opening ceremony of the Oran Mediterranean Games) was simply a complete work of art — script, choreography, staging and cutting-edge techniques." — Algérie Solidaire, 2022

"With the participation of 500 artists — Algeria chooses Salim Dada to open the Mediterranean Games." — Sky News Arabia, 2022

Selected Institutional Partners

International Committee of the Mediterranean Games (ICJM) · Ministry of Culture-Algeria, Qatar and Oman · Ministries of Youth & Sports · Organising Committee of the Mediterranean Games (COJM) · Institut Français (IF) · Istituto Italiano di Cultura (IIC) · National Copyright and Neighboring Rights Office (ONDA) · Office National de la Culture et de l'Information (ONCI) · Algerian Agency for Cultural Outreach (AARC) · Algerian National Theatre (TNA) · Algerian National Ballet