Marrakech Art Fair

After the success of the first event in October last year, the Marrakech Art Fair will be back at the Palace Es Saadi from 30 September to 3 October 2011, with some fifty international modern and contemporary art galleries. The aim is to show in Marrakech the very best in modern and contemporary art in North Africa, while also including the Middle East and Europe, as well as the Asia Pacific area.

Throughout the city, a cultural circuit will be part of the Marrakech Art Fair in conjunction with the conferences and exhibits designed to promote the sharing of art. This program is geared to the discovery of contemporary artists from the Middle East and other places linked to the history of the red city, and will open the doors of foundations, private collectors and artist workshops.

Never Basta (Homme aux pelicans), 2011, numbered print on plexiglas and wood by

Mohamed El Baz

At the heart of this circuit, an exhibition called Images affranchies (Liberated Images) will be presented at the same time as a conference about contemporary art in the Arab revolutions. Video and conceptual photography will have pride of place in this exhibition. Conceived by Brahim Alaoui, it brings together a selection of contemporary Arab artists, including Adel Abidin, Leila Alaoui, Halim al Karim, Hicham Benohoud, Meriem Bouderbala, Mohamed el Baz (see example above), Nina Esber, Nicène Kossentini, Amal Kenawy, Mehdi Meddaci, Youssel Nabil, Moataz Nasr, Yazid Oulab, Younes Rahmoun and Faysal Samra.

For more information, see www.marrakechartfair.com