Every year, the Festival of Masks celebrates the cultural, artistic and folk heritage of sacred and secular masks from Benin and elsewhere. The festival looks forward to welcoming you to Porto-Novo from 7 to 8 August 2027 for another immersive experience at the heart of the world of masks.
Every year in Porto-Novo, the Festival of Masks celebrates the cultural, artistic and folk heritage of sacred and secular masks from Benin and beyond.
Combining living traditions with contemporary expressions, the festival offers several days of entertainment in the city’s main squares, a festive village, concerts, immersive tourist experiences, an academic symposium and a majestic procession of masks.
Much more than just a festival: majestic mask processions, concerts, a festive village, immersive tourist experiences and an international academic symposium. A free event open to all.
The festival honors the great families of Beninese masks and their guests. Each one embodies a part of the visible and the invisible.
Alongside the festive celebration, the International Symposium of the Festival of Masks stands out as a space for intellectual reflection and intercultural dialogue. Every year it brings together researchers, anthropologists, historians, artists, cultural leaders and enthusiasts from Benin, Africa and beyond, to examine the mask at the crossroads of the sacred, the aesthetic, the social and the political.
Lectures, thematic panels, research presentations, documentary screenings and open discussions punctuate these scientific days. The symposium is also intended as a place of transmission for young researchers and students, through participatory workshops and intergenerational exchanges.