By Nii B. Andrews.
The 1-54 Contemporary African Art (CAA) Fair was launched in 2013 by Touria El Glaoui – the daughter of the Moroccan master, Hassan El Glaoui.
Since then it has become a prestigious event that provides the appropriate high-level exposure of CAA on the international stage.
Collectors and gallerists from all over the world will next week flock to the Marrakech edition (scheduled for January 30 – February 2 2025).
***** Checkers Wrap: Adjei Tawiah, 2024. Courtesy of SoArt Gallery. ******
The ancient African city, flanked to the south by the snowy peaks of the Atlas mountains, always provides a unique complementary back drop to the cutting-edge Art on display.
This year there will be work by 80 artists from 15 nations on display at the two main exhibition sites: the auspicious La Mamounia Hotel and the impressive Dada Art space.
There will be 15 galleries involved; 10 of them from Morocco.
As is the usual custom there will also be powerful exhibits in numerous fringe galleries throughout the city particularly in central Gueliz which is home to pace setting galleries such as Comptoir des Mines, the Loft Gallery and Gallery 127.
*****Grace Lynne Haynes, A Misunderstanding, 2022, Gouache and Collage on Paper, 165,1 x 116,8 cm. Courtesy of the artist and Luce Gallery, Turin (Italy).******
Comptoir des Mines will still have on display selected pieces from its recent massive and impressive Mohammed Kacimi solo exhibition.
In addition, the Gallery will kick off on the evening of January 30 with a vernissage of ‘ⵉⴼⴻⵕⴳⴰⵏ · Ifergan’, featuring a solo of Mohamed Arejdal.
The fair program will also comprise scheduled visits to artists’ studios; they include Rita Alaoui, Ali Maimoun and Abdelmalek Berhiss.
The Museum of African Contemporary Art Al Maaden (MACAAL) reopens its doors on February 2, 2025, with a new display of its permanent collection in a completely reimagined and renovated space.
The MACAAL exhibition is curated by Morad Montazami and Madeleine de Colnet for Zamân Books & Curating, in collaboration with MACAAL’s artistic director Meriem Berrada and scenographer Franck Houndégla.
“This new journey and its specially designed spaces are envisioned as stopovers along a cosmopolitan and multifaceted voyage.
Each stopover is expressed through an action verb, inviting us to push the boundaries of our imagination and forge connections. Each gallery, therefore, has its own thematic and scenographic universe”, stated Morad Montazami.
It promises to be an enchanting and exciting fair with glamorous evening events lined up in posh settings such as the Saadi Palace and El Fenn; venues where of course top shelf Art from the institution’s permanent collections will be on display featuring artists from Africa and it’s diaspora.
Yet again, Marrakech is poised to outdo all the other 1-54 venues for style and atmosphere.