BIENNALS:6th Marrakech Biennale

First held in 2005, the Marrakech Biennale is a major trilingual (English, Arabic and French) festival in North Africa focusing on Contemporary Art, Literature and Film. The Biennale seeks to promote the status of the artist and contemporary culture in North Africa and to dynamize the regional creative scene, enabling discussions with and between artists. The Marrakech Biennale promotes inter-cultural and inter-disciplinary exchanges through an educational approach that addresses art professionals, students and the general public.

By Efi Michalarou
Photo: 6th Marrakech Biennale Archive

The curatorial concept of this year’s biennial starts the premise of the designated title for the Biennale “Not New Now”. It aims to provide for an intellectual framework that unites multiple arenas of art and cultures by looking at it from the particular location and history of the city of Marrakech. It builds on a longstanding history of Pan Afro-Arab unity, through critically investigating socio political projects, cultural partnerships, and art movements that have led tomany shared artistic tendencies. The work of International artists comprises the central exhibition, it focuses on artistic projects, research, and ideas that respond to socio-political urgencies, representative of “Living Art”, an art that is for people and society, whilst harnessing aesthetic forms and poetics. The Biennale mainly spans across five historical locations in the medina of Marrakech: Koutoubia Mosque, Palais Badii, Palais Bahia, Dar Si Said, and Menara Pavilion. Simultaneously, a selection of Partner and Parallel Projects will be on view across the city. Public heritage sites of Marrakech, such as Palais El Badi and Palais Bahia, witness a variety of works from installations to site-specific commissions, by a group of international artists, focusing on Africa, the Arab world, and its Diasporas. Performances, exhibitions of archives, film programs, seminars, lectures, and even conferences are providing an art structure that looks at and interrogates these cultural commonalities and interlaced relationships. For the first time, the 2016 Biennale is going to present its program in public spaces and free of charge, in an effort to welcome a wider public and reinforce the Biennale’s connection to Marrakech’s urban historical landscape. The Biennale will also be in view for the first time over a prolonged period of 11 weeks. Each week the Biennale will present a diverse program of artist talks, performances, and symposiums. The selection of a number of projects will be based on the merit of the artistic product and its general abiding to the theme set for the Biennale. The purpose of the Parallel Projects is to open the opportunity to a wider spectrum of artists and organizations locally to take a leading role in Biennale. The Partner Projects differ from the Parallel Projects because the curator selects them according to how well they correspond to the curatorial concept and mission of the Biennale. They are also open to both a local and international arena of participants and organizations. They also include a host of local organizations, which the Biennale has long been partnered .

Info: 6th Marrakesh Biennale 2016, Not New Now, Curator: Reem Fadda, Assistant Curato:r Ilaria Conti, Duration: 24/2-8/5/16, Main Places: Jardins de la Menara, Aïn Mezouar – Palais El Bahia, 5 Rue Riad Zitoun el Jdid & Palais El Badii, Ksibat Nhass, Daily 10:00 -16:30 & 10:00-18:30 from 24-28/2/16, Musée Dar Si Saïd, Riad Zitoun Jdid,Wed-Mon, 10:00-16:30 & 10:00-18:30 from 24-28/2/16, L’Blassa, Rue de la Liberté & Rue Yugoslavie, Wed-Sun, 10:00 -18:0 & 10:00-20:00 from 24-28/2/16, www.marrakechbiennale.org