Marrakech Biennale

The Marrakech Biennale
بينالي مراكش
Logo of Marrakech Biennale 6
GenreBiennale, Focused on Contemporary Visual Art, Literature, Film and Arts in Public Spaces
Date(s)6th edition: 24 February 2016 until 8 May 2016
FrequencyBiennial, every two years
Location(s)Marrakech
Years active2005-2016
FounderVanessa Branson
Patron(s)Vanessa Branson and Abel Damoussi
Websitehttp://www.marrakechbiennale.org

The Arts festival in Marrakech, now the Marrakech Biennale, first took place in 2005.[1][2] It was set up by Vanessa Branson and Abel Damoussi with the help of curator Danny Moynihan and Liberatum creator Pablo Ganguli. There were 2 editions of AiM (Arts in Marrakech) in Marrakech in 2005 and 2007.[3] respectively. In 2009, Vanessa Branson carried it forward as the Marrakech Biennale, the first major Trilingual (English, Arabic & French) festival in North Africa.[4] It focused on Visual Art, Literature, and Film. Curated driven, with a main Visual Arts Exhibition, other arts exhibitions, installations, energetic fringe, discussions, debates and screenings based in iconic venues and settings of Marrakech and all under the patronage of His Majesty King Mohammed VI. The 3rd biennale took place in 2009 and was curated by  Abdellah Karroum and featured work by Francis Alys, Yto Barrada, Lordana Longo and Batoul S'Himi amongst many others. The main visual exhibition was in the Palais Bahia with discussions and debates at other venues including ESAV film school, El Fenn and Ksour Agafay. The 4th biennale took place in 2012[5][6] and was curated by Dr Nadim Samman and Carson Chan and shown at multiple venues such as Théâtre Royal, Koutoubia Cisterns, Bank Al-Maghrib, Cyber Parc Arsat Moulay Abdeslam and Dar Al-Ma’mûn in Marrakech.[7] A key focus was the artisanal traditions of Morocco and all new site-specific commissions were conceived and created on location with local craftspeople and manufacturers.The 5th biennale in 2014 [8][9][10] and was curated Hicham Khalidi and took place in the 16th century El Badi Palace, the Dar Si Said, which houses the Museum of Moroccan Arts, the former Bank Al Maghrib in the middle of the Jemaa El Fna square. The 6th biennale, in 2016,[11][12][13] was led by Amine Kabbage and was curated by Guggenheim Abu Dhabi curator Reem Fadda and its main venues were the 16th-century El Badi Palace and the 19th-century El Bahia Palace. It featured work including the sculpture À l'abri...de rien by Fatiha Zemmouri.[14][15]

Vanessa Branson walks under the sculpture À l'abri...de rien
  1. ^ Milner, Catherine (25 February 2014). "Vanessa Branson: Marrakech Biennale interview". Financial Times. Retrieved 26 August 2022.
  2. ^ http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/ViewArticle.aspx?articleid=2668381[permanent dead link]
  3. ^ "Arts in Marrakech 2009". Frieze. 13 December 2009. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
  4. ^ "AiM International Biennale". aimbienniale.org. Archived from the original on 3 August 2009. Retrieved 30 December 2021.
  5. ^ Sinden, Philip (18 March 2012). "Marrakech Biennale: Higher Atlas". www.nowness.com. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
  6. ^ Samman, Dr Nadim (29 February 2012). "HIGHER ATLAS | Marrakech Biennale 2012". Retrieved 1 May 2024.
  7. ^ Chan, Carson (2012). "Let Me Entertain You: A Consideration of Context and Audience in Curating the Fourth Marrakech Biennale". Academia.edu (catalog of the 4th Marrakech Biennale. Sternberg, 2012).
  8. ^ "5th Marrakech Biennale 2014 at Marrakech Biennale Marrakech - Artmap.com". artmap.com. 26 February 2014. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
  9. ^ Benkrima, Heather (10 March 2014). "Marrakech Biennale". villadinari.com. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
  10. ^ "Marrakech Biennale 5: Where are we now?". Contemporary& (in German). 26 February 2014. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
  11. ^ Piston, Job (26 February 2016). "See the Marrakech Bienniale in Pictures". Artnet News. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
  12. ^ Gray, Nicola (1 January 2016). "The 6th Marrakech Biennale, 2016: Not New Now". Third Text Online.
  13. ^ Holden, Lesley (18 March 2016). "The Marrakech Biennale, Morocco: Experiencing art in the medina". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2 May 2024.
  14. ^ Hoffmann, Jens (9 April 2016). "Marrakech Biennale 6". Frieze. Retrieved 28 August 2022.
  15. ^ "Third Text". www.thirdtext.org. Retrieved 1 May 2024.