1-54 Marrakech 2026 Talks

Taking the theme of the “Drum Diaspora” as its starting point, In-discipline Brazil explores the symbolic and poetic power of an African heritage that—barred from physical passage—migrated through memory to be reborn in Brazil. Having become a matrix of Brazilian syncretism, this pulse fuels celebration as a form of resistance, from carnival to popular rituals, and has profoundly shaped the history of visual arts and artists, for whom the drum remains a driving force of invention.Speakers:biarritzzz, ArtistAlexis Peskine, ArtistMônica Ventura, ArtistModerator:Oswaldo Carvalho, curator of DIÁSPORA DO TAMBOR - IN-Discipline Brésil

Explore the collaborative project between the Department of Fine & Applied Arts of the Obafemi-Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, 108 students from all across Nigeria, the families of Chibok abductees, and artist Prune Nourry.Statues Also Breathe is a major sculptural and participatory project honoring the memory of 108 missing girls from Chibok who were kidnapped in 2014. Inspired by the ancient Ife terracotta heads, the installation brings together an “army” of 108 unique clay sculptures created collaboratively by students, artisans, and with the support of mothers of the missing girls.Speakers:Claude Grunitzky, Scholar, Journalist & EditorPrune Nourry, ArtistMichael Olusegun Fajuyigbe, PhD, Professor of African Art Studies in the Department of Fine and Applied Arts at Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, NigeriaMargaret Yama, Chibok Abduction Survivor and Field Coordinator for Catharsis Arts Foundation NigeriaModerator:Meriem Berrada, Artistic Director of MACAAL

This public dialogue with philosopher and curator Dénètem Touam Bona draws on the books and projects he has developed (La Sagesse des lianes, 2021; Éloge de la submersion, 2024) but also in his filmed interview presented in the permanent collection display of MACAAL, Museum of African Contemporary Art Al-Maaden, on the topics of rituality, spirituality and emancipation.It aims to reveal the fertile dialogues initiated with several Afro-descendant artists, between theory and practice, through flows, breaths, currents of air, water and thought… It is in their helicoidal movement (the spirals of dances and mystical trances) that lianas intertwine, weaving elements together until worlds begin to emerge.Panelists: Dénètem Touam Bona in conversation with Morad Montazami

In 2024 alone, visa applicants from lower-income countries lost over €145 million in non-refundable fees for short-term Schengen visas, with applicants from the African continent disproportionately affected. These costs reflect systemic barriers that shape who participates in the global cultural conversation at a time when African curators, artists and institutions are generating some of the most exciting and influential work globally. Meanwhile, despite the progress in opening up visa free travel on the continent, intra-African mobility remains under-explored and underfunded, holding back its potential for building more equitable and sustainable creative ecosystems and markets. This conversation brings together cultural practitioners, curators, and policy thinkers to reflect on the tension between the circulation of art and the restricted movement of artists, especially for a generation coming of age amidst compounding border crises and shifting geopolitical narratives. Together, we’ll explore the political, financial, and cultural investments needed to scale new models of collaboration within the continent and beyond global cities.Moderator: Kenji Maghoma, Director of Communications LAGO CollectivePanelists:Alinta Sara, Independent curator and cultural project researcherBasma Mansour, curator, writer and researcher

This discussion presents the partnership between the Institut des Cultures d’Islam (ICI) and the Dar Bellarj Foundation on the occasion of the exhibition Le Bal des ogresses, which will open in September in Paris as part of the Institut français’ Mediterranean Season.Conceived by invited curator Sonia Recasens, the exhibition reflects the ICI’s collaborative model, based on dialogue with artists, independent curators and local partners, who join, over the course of projects, an artistic family. Drawing on the legends surrounding the figure of Aïcha Kandisha in North African folklore, Le Bal des ogresses explores feminine powers and their representations, at the intersection of popular narratives, spiritualities and Mediterranean imaginaries.The discussion will focus on the residency co-developed by the ICI and Dar Bellarj in Marrakech with artists Rim Mejdi and Imane Elkabli, and on their work in connection with the Mamans douées workshop, central to Dar Bellarj’s approach, where oral transmission and women’s know-how form the basis of contemporary creation.With:Flora Boillot, Director of the Institut français in MarrakechStéphanie Chazalon, Director of the Institut des Cultures d’IslamImane Elkabli, Dancer and performerMaha El Madi, Director of the Foundation Dar BellarjRim Mejdi, Film directorSonia Recasens, Art historian and curator

In the arts ecosystem, recognition often takes the form of accelerations—selection, awards, exhibitions, fairs, residencies—that intensify the visibility of an approach and broaden its circulation. The real turning point comes next: the ability to convert this exposure into a professional trajectory, i.e., into identifiable prospects, better-organized income, relationships of trust, and clear progress over time.In Marrakech, 1-54 creates precisely the conditions for such a conversion, bringing together, in a short period of time, the actors who make this value chain work: from creation and production to dissemination and narration, from the market and collection to institutional registration and circulation over the long term. In such an intensive setting, interest can translate into cooperation once the codes of exchange, the tempo of interactions, and the logic of the stages are mastered.Moderator:Amine Boushaba. Journalist, curator and moderatorPanelists:Mounat Charrat, ArtistOthmane El Farsi, Fondation TGCCYasmine Hadni, ArtistVictoria Jaunasse, Ellipse Art ProjectsHasnae Lachgar, Fondation TGCCHassan Sefrioui, Galerie Shart

Presentation of the book C.A.S.A: Casablanca Art School Archives with the authors, directors of the book, family of artists. This anthology work thus compiles the founding texts of this cosmopolitan movement, the testimonies of the actors of this period, on a vast collection of unpublished archives. It brings together a large number of authors involved in the writing of Moroccan cultural history.Moderators: Morad Montazami and Madeleine de Colnet, Co-directors of Zamân Books & CuratingPanelist:Maud Houssais, Book DirectorFatima-Zahra Lakrissa, Book DirectorNadia Chabâa, Author