Arts in Marrakech Biennale / Film, Marrakech, Morocco

Arts in Marrakech Biennale / Film, Literature and Visual Arts / Marrakech, Morocco

Arts in Marrakech is a Moroccan biennale of contemporary international culture. In February of 2012, Arts in Marrakech will launch its fourth edition titled Surrender, featuring key figures in literature, film and visual arts. From the 29th Feburary - 4th March 2012, public screenings, talks, performances and debates will take place at venues around the city. Opened till 3rd June 2012, Higher Atlas, an exhibition curated by Carson Chan and Nadim Samman will be on view at the historic El Badia Palace. Alan Yentob, creative director of the BBC, returns this year as the organizer of the film program, and Omar Barrada, Elizabeth Sheinkman and Benedicte Clarckson will organize the literature events.
With each biennial, Arts in Marrakech strives to collaborate with local universities and craftsmen, to build a platform that promotes Marrakech's position within the international sphere. Through partnerships with African and international voices, Arts in Marrakech aim to support a Moroccan cultural identity that is both locally rooted and internationally relevant. Developed for this upcoming edition, Arts in Marrakech will establish workshops for children lead by local and international cultural practitioners to promote access to comtemporary culture for all ages. These three months aim to highlight Morocco as a dynamic hub for current ideas and to establish its continued intellectual involvement on an international stage.
Past particpants have included Francis Alys, Yto Barrada, John Boorman, Richard E. Grant, Edmond El Maleh, Tracy Emin, Pieter Hugo, Isaac Julien, Abdellah Karroum, Joseph Kosuth, Julien Schnabel, Zadie Smith, Abdellah Taia.
In 2004 with the rise of global tensions, Vanessa Branson envisioned a cultural festival that would address social issues through the arts, using them as a vehicle for debate and discussion and to build bridges between diverse ideologies. Arts in Marrakech would become a celebration of creativity in a city that has been the focus of artistic exploration for centuries but with limited emphasis on contemporary art. Begining in 2005, as a gathering of arts enthusiasts who organized literary events and exhibitions. Arts in Marrakech has grown to become an internationally recognised biennale with a thriving visual arts, film and literature programme. The festival’s role has evolved along with the climate of the times. With today’s events in North Africa, the organization's goals could not be more pertinent for the cultural identity of the region. This festival aims to show the outside world that Morocco is an open society that encourages freedom of expression and debate, as well as sponsoring significant and lasting benefits for the area and its inhabitants, socially, economically and culturally.
4th Edition:
Vanessa Branson - President of Arts in Marrakech
Alan Yentob - Film Programme Organizer
Nadim Samman - Visual Arts Programme Curator
Carson Chan - Visual Arts Curator
Omar Barrada, Benedicte Clarkson, Elizabeth Sheinkman - Literature Programme



morocco culture,moroccan food,morocco food,moroccan cuisine,morocco beaches,moroccan meal,beaches in morocco,moroccan culture,hercules cave,hercules cave morocco

Promoting Visual Arts in Marrakech

Promoting Visual Arts in Marrakech



The very words 'Morocco' and 'Marrakech' conjure up visions of glamorous, exotic and mysterious locations, so it’s no wonder that many foreign films have been shot on location in this fascinating North African country over the decades since moving pictures became a popular means of entertainment. The Lumière brothers of France are believed to have been the earliest filmmakers in history, and their 1897 film Le chevalier Marocain was based in Morocco.

As an institution of higher education, the Marrakech School of Visual Arts (L'École supérieure des arts visuels de Marrakech) is dedicated to training students for careers in television, film and visual communications such as multimedia design and graphic arts, promoting these skills on the African continent. Most often referred to as ESAV Marrakech, the Marrakech School of Visual Arts also promotes cultural and social diversity, with students primarily from Africa, the Maghreb and the Middle East. As a partnership with the University Cadi Ayyad of Marrakech, the school was founded in 2006 by the Susanna Biedermann Foundation of Switzerland, and runs as a non-profit organization.

The school complex includes two film set studios with multi-camera facilities and a 210-seat movie theater. A sound-proofed auditorium and sound-proofed recording studio, along with twenty editing rooms, seven sound recording units, five DV cam filming units, fifteen HD cam filming units, large screen projection, artist workshops and Mac Pro-equipped graphic art studios, are among the facilities offered to students. Each year entrance evaluations are held in Paris, Marrakech and ten other locations in the Middle East and Africa. Applicants need a bachelor's degree, and with an independent scholarship fund available, students are selected on their abilities and not their financial or social status.

Led by Moroccan curator and historian, Abdellah Karroum, ESAV collaborates with Rabat-based The Apartment 22 and other institutes to host an annual meeting creating a platform for the university and the professional world of art, both national and international, to meet and share knowledge and experiences regarding the arts.

With the Marrakech International Film Festival (Festival International du Film de Marrakech) set to take place from November 30 through to December 08, 2012, clearly Morocco is on the international map in the realms of visual art in all its forms.





morocco culture,moroccan food,morocco food,moroccan cuisine,morocco beaches,moroccan meal,beaches in morocco,moroccan culture,hercules cave,hercules cave morocco

Harnessing the Power of the Sun in Morocco

Harnessing the Power of the Sun in Morocco

 

In mid-2010, Africa's largest wind farm was inaugurated in Northern Morocco by King Mohammed VI. Located around 34 kilometers from Tangiers, in Melloussa, the wind farm was the beginning phase of a larger plan to harness the power of the sun and wind as a renewable, environment-friendly source of power. Stretching over a distance of 42 km, 165 wind turbines, together with a smaller wind farm that has been running for some time, will have the capacity to provide energy that would translate into a saving of up to 126,000 metric tons of oil per year, making a significant contribution to the reduction of CO2 emissions in Morocco.

In November 2012 it was reported that the European Investment Bank, along with other investors, have made a commitment to provide financing for up to half the cost of the development of a huge solar complex in Ouarzazate. Agreements have been signed with MASEN – Morocco's public-private solar energy agency – for the first phase of the project. Morocco has plans to become a substantial renewable energy producer, with the aim of exporting renewable energy to European countries, with nearby Spain having expressed an interest in obtaining its energy from Morocco.

Other organizations involved in the Moroccan solar power project include the World Bank and the African Development Bank. A Saudi-based consortium has been appointed to construct the first phase of the solar power plant at an estimated cost of close to $1 billion, which is set to be completed toward the end of 2014. The initial phase will have the capacity to generate 160-megawatts of power, with a second phase to bring capacity up to 500 megawatts planned for completion by 2020.

In a country with an abundance of sunshine – up to 3,000 hours per year - it makes sense to tap into the sun's energy as a source of power, particularly with ongoing advances in solar energy technology making this a very viable proposition. The long-term goal is to have five solar power plants generating 2,000 megawatts of electricity by 2020, which would supply roughly 20 percent of Morocco's electricity needs.


morocco culture,moroccan food,morocco food,moroccan cuisine,morocco beaches,moroccan meal,beaches in morocco,moroccan culture,hercules cave,hercules cave morocco