Born in Belgium in 1981, Saïd Abitar studied scenography at La Cambre, where he joined the teaching staff. At the same time, he collaborated on various theatrical and cinematographic projects.
Drawing is definitely what drives his work in general, sometimes going to the very heart of the scenographic intent by printing or projecting his illustrations directly onto the sets. Even in monochrome sets, pictoriality becomes a dimension in its own right. He always revisits the “painted canvas” in a very personal way, whether by playing with the print media or the way they appear in space.
He has also co-directed and fully illustrated an animated miniseries, in which his watercolors for the production sets have a very special status.
In his drawings, Saïd Abitar appropriates childhood techniques to produce an iconography that is both cheerful and engaging. These include tales from the various countries he has worked in on the African continent, hand-painted frescoes straight from the Opera, and urban legends from Brussels.
Assistant-professor in scenography at the École Nationale des Arts Visuels de La Cambre in Brussels (Belgium).
Supervision of Laboratoire Elan, a workshop involving actors, authors and set designers, with the aim of creating a show as part of the Récréatrâles festival in Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso).
