Over the years, Marrakech has become a key gateway to Africa, while also developing its local art scene.
After a recent visit to the city, The New Arab highlights key events that have recently taken place to reflect this exciting cultural shift.
The Night of the Galleries
From 30 January to 2 February 2025, The Night of the Galleries celebrated its sixth edition, featuring exhibitions, performances, and collaborations that showcased contemporary works by both emerging and established artists.
On one of the evenings, The New Arab recalls encountering a friendly individual with wide eyes, navigating the streets of Gueliz, a modern neighbourhood in Marrakech, and offering directions to art lovers.
European journalists had mixed reactions, ranging from curiosity to suspicion, likely influenced by warnings from friends who had visited Morocco, advising them to avoid street hustlers. “They’ll promise to take you to amazing installations and performances, only to lead you to their uncle’s soap shop five blocks away — if you’re lucky,” as the story goes.
“It’s beautiful how people engage with contemporary art,” said an African-American collector, though he seemed unsure whether to trust the stranger, checking his location on Google Maps.
“The thing is, in the art crowd, you never know if someone is a genius or just madness — or madness, full stop. The chaotic nature of Morocco is merely the cherry on top of this ambiguity.
With that in mind, nowhere was the vibrant and creative soul of Marrakech more evident than in the work of Belgian-Moroccan photographer Mous Lamrabat, whose Homesick exhibition is currently on display at Loft Gallery, a two-storey space just a few blocks away in Gueliz.
Walking through the gallery’s pink walls, viewers admired fashion-inspired portraits infused with pop culture references and brand iconography, blending Western clothing with traditional African aesthetic elements set against Morocco’s natural scenery.
This fusion of cultural motifs reflects not only Mous’ mixed identity and upbringing but also the growing aesthetic of the ‘New Morocco’. Here, cultural stereotypes are remixed, colonialist and European influences are turned on their head, and a pan-African identity is embraced — all with a unique Moroccan spin on consumerist culture.
On an architectural level, the neighbourhood of Gueliz itself embodies this blend of Marrakech’s modern vibe, which is why many galleries have chosen it as an unofficial art district. The colonial roots of this Ville Nouvelle, built by the French in 1921 near the Medina, have been reinterpreted by young creatives who gather in the area’s cocktail bars and cafés, attracting both local and international flâneurs.
Adding to the cultural appeal of Gueliz, the Musée Yves Saint Laurent hosted three exhibitions: one dedicated to the designer’s creations, another to the Jardin Majorelle, and a third to Saint Laurent’s ventures in comic book production.
The museum, housed in a modernist brick building, blends perfectly with the early 20th-century architecture of Gueliz.
1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair
In addition to the Night of the Galleries, the 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair opened its doors the same weekend, further enriching Marrakech’s cultural calendar with exhibitions at both DaDa, a multifunctional space, and the legendary La Mamounia 5-star hotel.
When it comes to art fairs, the setting itself plays a crucial role. Just as Art Basel Paris 2024 thrived in the Grand Palais, 1-54 benefited from its location at La Mamounia, whose architecture and notable (and less notable) guests, ranging from Churchill to Jennifer Aniston, offered a narrative charm unmatched by traditional white-cube fairs.
Outside the fair pavilion, in the lush gardens of La Mamounia, the atmosphere buzzed with an international mix of guests — not just European collectors, but also Arabs, Africans, and African Americans, highlighting the global reach of the fair.
At the fair itself, several galleries from Africa were well represented, alongside a few European galleries, including Primo Marella, an Italian gallery with a long history of supporting African talent in Europe, as well as several French galleries.
Moroccan galleries also had a strong presence, especially those from Casablanca, long known as the country’s artistic hub and home to the renowned Casablanca School of Painting. Today, however, Marrakech is drawing increasing attention for its international reach.
Reflecting on the differences between the two cities, Cannelle Hamon-Gillet, director of Galerie 38, said, “The art scene in the two cities is very different. Casablanca has a more established local scene, while Marrakech offers greater access to international collectors.”
Building on this distinction, at 1-54, Galerie 38 bridges generations by showing works from Casablanca School pioneers alongside younger artists, while also emphasising connections between African and Moroccan talent, particularly female artists redefining abstract expressionism.
Meanwhile, CDA Gallery, also from Casablanca but with an active presence in Marrakech, presented a diverse selection of African art, featuring a mix of traditional painting, AI-generated photography, and Zellij-inspired works, reviving a centuries-old craft from Tetouan.
Photography was also a key focus at 1-54, particularly at MCC Gallery, which has specialised in experimental photography since its 2020 Marrakech opening, showcasing works by Amine El Gotaibi, Houda Kabbaj, and Malika Sqalli, with installations offering a fresh take on contemporary photography through analogue printing techniques and mixed-media art.
As Nathan Chicheportiche of Galerie 208, a Paris-based gallery with a Marrakech location, put it, “We love the ‘folie’ of Marrakech. We were captivated by the city’s ever-shifting energy.”
MACAAL
Beyond the city’s vibrant galleries and fairs, one important space to note in Marrakech’s evolving art scene is the Museum of African Contemporary Art Al Maaden (MACAAL), a private institution that has fully embraced the mission of celebrating and expanding the narrative of African creativity.
After closing for renovations in 2023, the museum has now reopened, unveiling its permanent collection for the first time.
Curated by Morad Montazami and Madeleine de Colnet, the exhibition Seven Contours, One Collection was on display, highlighting MACAAL’s commitment not only to showcasing African art but also to challenging and broadening the global understanding of African creativity.
“In this new configuration, spaces are intentionally considered as individual stopovers along a cosmopolitan and plural journey. The DNA structure of MACAAL is that of a pan-African, Marrakech-based museum whose mission is to represent African artists,” Morad shared with The New Arab.
Spanning seven thematic rooms, the exhibition guided visitors through a century of African contemporary art, addressing topics such as decolonisation, spirituality, ecological crises, and Afro-diasporic identity.
Works by historic figures and prominent contemporary African artists were also displayed alongside pieces by local Moroccan artists, with each room’s theme introduced by the voices of contemporary intellectuals and thinkers, creating a space for intellectual reflection.
In some rooms, such as the one dedicated to colonisation, the museum challenged traditional structures. For example, in this space, the voice of Ariella Aïsha Azoulay, author of The Resistance of Jewels, could be heard stating that every museum is an act of colonisation.
It is precisely in its attempt to reconfigure the traditional Western museum setting that MACAAL presents works without captions, allowing the artwork to speak for itself in dialogue with one another, without identifying the artists.
In this space, pan-African narratives are consistently associated with works that belong to both Moroccan modernity and tradition. One example is Dans les bras de la terre, a piece by Rabat architect Salima Naji, which greets visitors in the MACAAL atrium. The work reflects on architecture and traditional building techniques, using local materials such as adobe and rammed earth, and invites a reassessment of heritage preservation and sustainability.
“It’s a pity to see Marrakech filled with concrete, rather than traditional construction methods. Think about this: we’ve been affected by the earthquake, but the traditional buildings held up much better, and they were also easier to repair. We have a lot to learn by looking at our past, at what truly belongs to us,” Salima shared with The New Arab.
Considering all these different elements contributing to the art ecosystem, a museum, a fair, and the galleries, there are good signs that the city of Marrakech will evolve into a hub for key players in the African, Arab, and European art worlds in the future.
An art capital is made by a blend of institutional efforts and market appetites, and a promising sign is that collectors are eager to fly across continents to visit art spaces in the city.
As one collector pointed out as we strolled through Gueliz, with his hands full of soaps bought in a shop a few blocks away: “Buying contemporary African art is fashionable, but buying it in Marrakech is a whole other layer of coolness.”
Naima Morelli is an arts and culture writer with a particular interest in contemporary art from the Middle East, North Africa and the Asia-Pacific region. She is also the author Arte Contemporanea in Indonesia, un’introduzione and The Singapore Series: a contemporary art reportage
Follow her on X: @naimamorelli
