Marrakech Biennale


Marrakech Biennale

an International Gathering of Performance, Screening and Debate for the Promotion of Contemporary Art and Culture

Marrakech will host the artistic and literary gathering of the 4th edition of the Marrakech Biennale under the theme “Surrender” from February 29 until March 4, with the main visual arts exhibitions running from February 29 until June 3.

The Marrakech Biennale offers the opportunity for international artists, authors, and film makers to exhibit their works, discuss and debate current issues, and exchange their experiences and thoughts at a larger scale with other artists and ordinary audiences as well.

The event is a celebration and a promotion of contemporary art in its various forms and a meeting point between artists in different fields and from different countries to cut cultural bridges and immerse in dialogue, discussions and debates.

The main visual arts exhibition will be held in Le Théatre Royale and in Al-Koutoubia tanks. It will bring together over 25 internationally acclaimed artists, architects, writers, musicians and composers who will exhibit their works. The exhibition is created in partnership with the local craftsmen of Marrakech to create an artistic dialogue between the artists and the specificities of the city.

Almost ten daily debates are planned under the supervision of Omar Berrada, Benedicte Clarkson and Elizabeth Sheinkman. The literary section will be held in the Riad El Fenn, a historic 17th century riad in the heart of the Marrakech medina, but also in several other places in town.

A series of lectures on art and its relationship with the city will also be held by many specialists, such as Aziz Daki (Workshop 21), Simon Njami (Revue Noire), WJT Mitchell (Art Professor, and editor of Critical Inquiry journal), and Rasha Salti (Art Critic).

To provide access to contemporary culture and art at a larger scale and for people of all ages, the 4th edition Biennale of Marrakech will include workshops for children organized by local and international stakeholders, in partnership with Zidzid Kids. In addition, students of the Cadi Ayyad University in Marrakech and l’ESAV (Ecole supérieure des arts visuels) will accompany the guest artists through an internship program.

The program of the 4th edition of Marrakech Biennale will be as follows:

Tuesday, February 29 :

2:30pm – 3:30pm : “Writing Advice” by Latifa Baqa, Ali Benmakhlouf, Geoff Dyer, Camille de Toledo and Omar Berrada (as the moderator).

Friday,March 2 :

10.30 – 12.30am : “5×15″ by Touria Binebine, Rian Malan, Ben Okri, Ouidad Tebaâ, Ruby Wax and Rosie Boycott (as the moderator).

2.30pm – 4pm : “Fathers and Sons” by Camille de Toledo, Driss Ksikès, Rabia Raihane and Juan Asis Palao (as the moderator).

4pm – 5.30pm : “Are You Modern ?” by Khadija Carroll La, Pankaj Mishra, Zahia Rahmani and Ali Benmakhlouf (as moderator).

Saturday, March 3 :

11;00 am-12.30 am : “Trahir-vrai” by Rian Malan, Zahia Rahmani and Driss Ksikès (as the moderator).

2.30pm – 4pm : “Writing in Images” by Geoff Dyer, Mario Pfeifer and Omar Berrada (as the moderator).

4pm – 5.30pm : “Moroccan Novels” by Latifa Baqa, Rabia Raihane, Abderrahim Elkhassar and Ayoub El Mouzaine (as the moderator).

Sunday, March 4 :

2:30pm – 4pm : “Worlds of Words” by Abderrahim Elkhassar, Ben Okri and Pankaj Mishra (as the moderator).

Edited by Ahmad Azizi



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MARRAKECH BIENNALE


MARRAKECH BIENNALE
Marrakech Biennale Exhibit information:

This past month, Marrakech hosted its 4th Biennale, a cultural exhibit which brought together visual artists, writers, film-makers and literature under the rubric ‘Free Thinking Surrender’. The festival included public screenings, talks, performances and debates at venues around the city. The main exhibition , Higher Atlas, took place in and around the abandoned Théâtre Royal (which we highlight in another blog). Here, many of the installations were architectural either in function or in their interaction with the various spaces of the theater.

Clockwise from top left, a bridge suspended by a red curtain divides the audience and the never-completed stage in an installation by Alex Schweder La and Khadija Carroll La and named ‘The Rise and Fall’; Jurgen Mayer H’s satellite dish made of perforated metal and concrete made with similar techniques to traditional Moroccan trays and tabletops; in a courtyard just outside the theater, visual artist Faouszi Laaris used traditional drinking glasses to create a piece that reflects the relationship between urban environments and daily used items; a bright yellow sculptural mat on the floor of the theater, created by Sinta Werner, was intended to be seating for the unused theater; and Barkow Leibinger Architects created the ‘Loom-Hyperbolic’ in an exterior courtyard. Their giant web creation received its inspiration from Moroccan weaving craft as well as Marrakech architecture.



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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



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