Fairgoers arriving at La Mamounia, where the fair is held in Marrakech Courtesy The name is a reference to the 54 countries in Africa. Along with the general soft state of the art market , the trade in works by artists from Africa has taken a hit the past few years.
In , auction sales for Modern and contemporary African art fell by 8. It's a bit of a situation where we get the ripple effect, because they didn't have good years in the other fairs.
One break in the clouds of the overcast art market is the growth of art infrastructure in Morocco. More commercial galleries are opening while Moroccan artists are becoming more in-demand at home as well as overseas, dealers say. Galleries and cultural institutions across the city are also putting on their own events and openings to coincide with You have galleries in Tangiers, you have galleries in Casablanca and Rabat.
The Marrakech fair itself is a major draw for both local collectors and out-of-towners, particularly from Franceβno surprise given Morocco's long history as a French colony and the widespread use of the French language in country. Wandering through the aisles at the fair's two locations, it was more common to hear conversations in French than in Arabic.
By Friday morning, more than visitors had entered the fair, organisers said. Courtesy Benchekroun, the youngest artist of the group, uses photographs and schematic drawings to contrast the effects of French and Spanish colonisation with their aftermaths. Overlaying images of old structures built by the colonising forces with photos of Moroccan landscapes shows how memory fades with decolonisation, Ababou says.
