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The Villa des Arts in Casablanca held the opening ceremony for the National Salon of Emerging Contemporary Artists exhibit on Wednesday, Nov. 19. The group exhibition showcases the work of 40 up-and-coming artists of various mediums.
«This major event is a unique opportunity to highlight the diversity, creativity, and innovation of Moroccan youth, offering them a platform conducive to the development of their talents», according to a statement from the organizers.
A selection committee, including writer and artist Mahi Binebine, curator Farah Maakel, AL MADA exhibitions manager Nabil Bahya and more, chose the artists out of almost 200 applicants. The committee also chose three winners out of 10 nominees for the new Prix Al Mada - Emergence, which gives certain pieces further recognition and a cash prize.
Help for emerging artists
The winning artworks and artists were announced during the ceremony: third place, Ait Hallali Mehdi (photography); second place, Soukaina Bouali (textile, photography); and first place, Largon Karim (painting, drawing).
«I feel overstimulated, but I’m also really happy because these pieces took a really long time to make», said Bouali, a self-taught artist based in Casablanca who works with fiber and textile art. «It’s cool to see the public interact with this exhibition», she added.
Her winning piece was a crocheted garment titled «Tenant» and aims to «blend the limits between the physical and the metaphysical, the inner and the visible, who we think we are and who we might be», according to her. The piece utilizes clay and handspun, raw wool from Ourika, a small town in the Al Haouz province.
Along with her practice, she takes commissions for wearable pieces. When asked about what she will do with the cash prize, she said she will «pay some overdue taxes» and «buy more yarn».
Without a fixed theme for the exhibition, artists had the liberty to express what they wanted with their pieces.
One installation is by Rabat-native Rassane Fadili, who draws inspiration from his dreams and also a kid-like curiosity towards the world, he told Yabiladi. His work includes surrealist motifs of nature, the cosmos and people.
«I feel proud to be a part of these artworks and to have the group recognition of great artists like Mahi Binebine, who was part of the jury», he said. Fadili wants the contemporary art scene in Morocco to grow, and is glad there are resources like this exhibit.
«There's a lot of opportunities right now, a lot of help between the artists in the community. I hope that I will see it prosper in the years to come and that we will see more help from the state and from the officials for younger artists», he said.
Telling stories through art
Another installation in the exhibit is «Un Dimanche au Soleil» (A Sunday in the Sun), a documentary film directed by Elisa Budin and Nassim Boudraa. The duo is based in Paris and has created works about the Moroccan diaspora.
The film focuses on the residents of the isolated neighborhood of Les Raguenets in Saint-Gratien, France. After the sudden demolition of the local football field, the film follows residents grappling with a loss of purpose and direction in the disenfranchised neighborhood.
Boudraa says it was important to show the «violence of the environment», like the struggle with unemployment and the lack of facilities. «They are prisoners of their own neighborhood», Budin said.
This year, the salon also sponsored the residencies of four artists from Sub-Saharan Africa. One of the artists, Tesprit Tete, is from Lomé, Togo and specializes in mixed media art with a special component: flip-flops.
He aims to make art addressing «ecological issues and challenges» his generation will face. «I believe environmental protection should be everyone’s responsibility», Tete said.
He says that the exhibition gave him a chance to challenge himself to improve his practice.
«I was at a stage of questioning the direction I wanted to give to my work. This residency allowed me to step out of my usual environment, explore, improve, and make my technique more complex», Tete said.
The exhibit is on-going at Villa des Arts in Casablanca and will be open to the public until Dec. 24.
