Morocco‘s exceptional location acts as a geographical and cultural bridge between Europe and North Africa. Mixing beauty, chaos, and color, Marrakesh is a focal point for the world of art and fashion. Many artists have been inspired by this magnificent city, one of the most modern in Morocco.
“Marrakesh, a historical and contemporary confluence of people from all over Africa and Europe, has a stimulating energy that inspires creativity in all disciplines of art”
Touria El Glaoui, director and founder of 1-54.
In Singulart, we want to highlight the essential places for any art lover who wants to visit the city of Marrakech.
Musée Yves Saint Laurent Marrakesh
Two museums have been built to exhibit the works of Yves Saint Laurent and the collection of the Fondation Pierre Bergé – Yves Saint Laurent: in Paris and in Marrakesh. According to Pierre Bergé, the designer’s business partner, Marrakesh was an obvious location to build a museum because of how much it owes this city and country for its inspiring colors and shapes for their designs.
The Marrakesh museum was financed by an auction of Moroccan art works, held in the city by Pierre Bergé. The unique structure received the award for best new public building at the 2018 Design Awards of the British international design magazine Wallpaper. It was designed by Studio KO and built by the Moroccan branch of Bouygues. From the outside, the earth-colored building takes the form of a set of cubes and curves, dressed in a brick lace, making the museum blend in perfectly with its surroundings.
The interior includes an exhibition room with the work of Yves Saint Laurent, another dedicated to Jacques Majorelle, and temporary exhibition rooms.
Comptoir des Mines Galerie
Le Comptoir des Mines is a space created in 2016 by Art Holding Morocco, the first Moroccan establishment dedicated to artistic advice and cultural management, with a keen eye on presenting the best of the nation’s emerging artists. Elsewhere within this completely new contemporary art gallery and museum, it offers quality artistic programming throughout the year.
Thanks to the recognized experience of its founder, this project is mainly focused on the dynamics of the emerging scenes of the continent, while remaining rooted in the social realities of the country. The transmission of the history of a society through contemporary artistic creation remains the main intention of each artistic project presented.
Musée d’Art Contemporain Africain Al Maaden (MACAAL)
Built in Marrakech for the COP22 climate conference in 2016, the Al Maaden Museum of Contemporary African Art (MACCAL) is a contemporary art center created by businessman Mohamed Alami Lazraq to promote the talent of contemporary African artists.
The museum is installed in an old administrative building in the Golf Al Maaden complex, next to the symbolic Atlas mountains. Throughout the year, the MACAAL offers an extensive program of exhibitions that allows you to extensively discover contemporary African art, its creative energy, and its cultural diversity. The exhibitions that were planned for 2020 present contemporary artists from all over the world with multi-sensitive or multicultural themes.
1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair
1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair is the leading international art fair dedicated to promoting contemporary African art from the continent’s diverse perspectives. The third edition was held last February, with the presence of 20 major galleries from ten countries and the work of more than 70 artists – both emerging and established – working in a wide variety of media and from diverse geographical origins. For many galleries, it is an opportunity to explore African arts and culture.
The fair is held every February at the Hotel La Mamounia and includes a large number of events, performances, talks, and debates with the aim of the event to explore and make known the contemporary art of the Africa.
Jardin Majorelle
The Jardin Majorelle is a botanical garden that was designed by the French painter Jacques Majorelle, nearby to the villa where he moved when he falls in love with Marrakesh. The architect Paul Sinoir built it inspired by Le Corbusier and the Palace of the Bay of Marrakesh, painting it with an intense blue shade created by the artist: Majorelle Blue.
The garden is composed of several areas, with all kinds of exotic plants, vegetation, and rare species that make it a living work of art. With the acquisition of the villa by Yves Saint-Lauren and Pierre Bergé, the number of plant species increased even more. Today, the villa’s workshop has been converted into the Museum of Islamic Art in Marrakech, and the garden is one of the city’s major tourist attractions.
Jardin Anima
27km outside the city center, we find the Anima Garden, a lush garden of more than two hectares. Amidst plantations and diverse flowers, we find curious works of art turning the garden itself into a permanent art exhibition, just as its creator André Heller wished. With amusing works by the painter Hans Werner Geerdts, along with pavilions and sculptures, all hidden among palm trees and bougainvilleas, the walk through the park is a real experience.
Riad Medina Art & Riad AnaYela
Due to their magnificent architecture, these two palaces are worth visiting. Both luxury hotels are places where you can get a taste of the art representative of traditional Moroccan life, and act as an oasis in the face of the chaos of Marrakesh.
