Who are the most important contemporary Moroccan plastic artists?

Most studies indicate that the first attempts at Moroccan visual art began at the beginning of the twentieth century, with the appearance of paintings bearing the signature of the artist Muhammad bin Ali al-Rabati (1861-1939) and others. This was after the arts in the popular imagination were primarily linked to traditional crafts, but these drawings took on an innate, spontaneous character in their expressions.

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These experiments, which mimicked the paintings of Western artists residing in Morocco at the time, did not develop much, nor did they receive much attention from researchers, who failed to document much of them. It wasn't until the 1950s that contemporary artists began to question art within its cultural and historical contexts, offering prominent proposals for combining heritage and modernity.

"Moroccan Artists in National Collections, From Ben Ali of Rabat to the Present Day" is the title of the exhibition, which opened last Monday at the Mohammed VI Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Rabat and will continue until December 15th. Organized by the National Museum Foundation, the exhibition is open to the public.

Works by pioneers of the Tetouan School of Art and the Casablanca School are on display.

The exhibition includes approximately 100 works borrowed from the collections of the Royal Academy of Morocco. It aims to "discover the most prominent trends in modern and contemporary art since the beginnings of artistic modernity in Morocco, and to shed light on their history and emergence from the beginning of the twentieth century to the present day," according to a statement from the organizers.

It covers the experience of the visual artist Ahmed Yaqoubi (1928-1985), whose works ranged between figurative and abstract forms and were admired by Western writers and artists in the city of Tangier, where the American writer Paul Bowles introduced him to his friends and contributed to the organization of his exhibitions, the first of which was in Madrid and then New York in 1952. He then emigrated to the United States in the mid-seventies and continued to paint and publish his short stories until his death.

The exhibition also showcases works by artists who studied at the Tetouan School of Art, founded in 1945. Its early graduates contributed to shaping a modernist culture in diverse styles in subsequent years. Among the most prominent of these is Mekki Maghara (1933–2009), whose visual research focused on the aesthetics of Moroccan space and its heritage elements.

The exhibition moves on to introduce the Casablanca School, or the “Group of 65,” which included Farid Belkahia (1934–2014), Mohamed Melehi (1939), and Mohamed Chebaa (1935–2013), who combined practice and theory with a mastery of calligraphy and inscriptions derived from heritage in their paintings. The primary concern of these artists was to present artistic experiences free from Western influence and to establish a Moroccan experience that draws from its surroundings, with its symbols and tools, despite the fact that most of them studied in Europe.

The organizers' statement notes that "since the 1960s, artists such as Jilali Gharbaoui, Ahmed Cherkaoui, Farid Belkahia, Mohamed Chebaa, Mohamed Melehi, and Miloud Labied have re-evaluated their relationship with tradition, aware of issues of identity and calling for an art free from restrictions." The statement explains that "the following decades were marked by the emergence of new artistic practices that fall within the context of the search for uniqueness and a break from the prevailing artistic traditions of the time. It was a period of affirming difference and diversifying aesthetic styles."

Nine Moroccan artists participate in the Carthage Days of Contemporary Art. Nine Moroccan visual artists are exhibiting their works at the City of Culture in Tunis as part of the second edition of the Carthage Contemporary Art Days, which opened on Saturday evening, November 16, 2019, under the theme "Art Achieves." The week-long event will continue. In a statement to the Maghreb Arab Press Agency, Leila Iraqi, director of Gallery 86, which represents Morocco at this edition, highlighted the various aspects of art represented during the Carthage Contemporary Art Days, which run until November 22.

She said that this international event will witness the participation of many internationally renowned artists, including a group of Moroccan artists such as Ahmed Ben Ismail, Amina Rizqi, Ahmed Jerid, Amal Bashir, Rachid Bakhoz, Fouad Chardoudi, Laila Iraqi, Jacint Lago, and Maria Qarmadi. Laila Iraqi expressed her pride in representing the Kingdom at this major artistic event, organized by the Tunisian Ministry of Cultural Affairs. For his part, artist Rachid Bakhoz, curator of the gallery, confirmed that the exhibition features a collection of artworks by contemporary Moroccan visual artists from various backgrounds.

He added that these days, inaugurated by Tunisian Minister of Cultural Affairs Mohamed Zine El Abidine in the presence of numerous artists, include seven Arab and international pavilions, including the Moroccan pavilion, in addition to the international exhibition, which also features artists from 16 nationalities. Rashid Bakhoz explained that this artistic event is of significant value within the Arab and international visual arts field. He added, "We are presenting artistic achievements by contemporary Moroccan artists who move away from stereotypes in their work," noting that the Moroccan gallery includes a collection of works by distinguished contemporary artists.

He said that this is a matter of serious Moroccan participation in the visual field by artists open to foreign experiences for the purpose of cross-pollination, artistic exchange, and testing of new visions. It is worth noting that the Carthage Days of Contemporary Art is an annual event that presents various art forms, most notably visual art, featuring works from Tunisia and abroad. The second edition of the Carthage Contemporary Art Days featured the participation of 20 countries and 57 artists, 31 of whom were from Tunisia. The festival is being held in Tunis and two governorates within the country, Kasserine and Tataouine, as part of the "decentralization and democratization of art and the fight against marginalization."

The festival, which launched last year, aims to "develop the visual arts market" through a rich and diverse program showcasing a variety of art forms, most notably painting, alongside performances of music, dance, and visual art. The event will feature galleries from various artistic backgrounds, including galleries from Côte d'Ivoire, Denmark, Libya, Qatar, Sudan, and Turkey. According to the organizers, contemporary art in its diverse forms is at the heart of this edition of the festival, featuring works in painting, sculpture, photography, graphic art, and street art.