Marrakech Art Fair Runs into Problems

What is going on in Marrakech?

Something is happening in the Marrakech Arts world that has disrupted the planing of the annual Marrakech Art Fair. The organisers of the Art Fair have just announced that the event, originally planned to take place in October 2012,  has been postponed for a whole year and will instead take place in the autumn of 2013.

The organising team, headed by Simon Njami, has been in damage control mode and is trying to reassure the public that it still welcomes "new talents and will develop a formula focused on the event’s international identity as well as on its role as a platform for the contemporary arts scene."

Nobody has come out and said what the actual problems are but there are rumours of problems in two important areas. Organisers have hinted that preparations have fallen behind. But possibly of more substance is the suggestion that the organisers have lost the support of the cultural authorities. The organisers are quoted as saying that the fair needs ""significant preparatory work and the collaboration of Moroccan cultural authorities."

The official press release from the Arts Fair:

The third annual Marrakech Art Fair, originally scheduled for next October 4 to 7 under Simon Njami’s direction, has been deferred until fall 2013.

Following the success of the first two editions of Marrakech Art Fair, the organizing team wanted to provide new impetus to the fair. The organizing team has welcomed new talents and will develop a formula focused on the event’s international identity as well as on its role as a platform of the contemporary arts scene.

Marrakech Art Fair is a highlight on the art market but it has also become a place of artistic discoveries: a high level cultural circuit is organized through the city and meetings between institutions, collectors and gallery owners are proposed as part of the fair. Organizing such an event in Morocco requires significant preparatory work and the collaboration of Moroccan cultural authorities.

The organizing team is looking forward to meeting Moroccan and foreign art enthusiasts, gallery owners and partners for a new edition of Marrakech Art Fair in October 2013.

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