The MMVI starts the year with a cross-exhibition of Chaïbia Talal and the CoBrA movement

Until April, the Mohammed VI Museum (MMVI) of modern and contemporary Art is hosting a joint exhibition by the late Chaïbia Talal and the famous avant-garde movement CoBrA. Entitled “Chaïbia/CoBrA: At the crossroads of freedoms”, it shows around twenty works by the illustrious figure of Moroccan visual arts, mainly from the permanent collection of the MMVI, and creations by CoBra, part of the collection of the Cérès Franco Museum Cooperative, in France.

«I am happy to kick off the Museum’s new year with this harmonious exhibition», welcomed Mehdi Qotbi, president of the National Museum Foundation (FNM), during the opening of the exhibition on Tuesday January 7. He is also delighted to “the extraordinary enthusiasm for the arts and museums in Morocco», citing the example of the Dar El Bacha Museum in Marrakech, which received up to 1,500 visitors per day during the end-of-year holidays. “It’s incredible to see so many Moroccans and foreign tourists going to the Kingdom’s museums», he congratulated himself.

Zayd Ouakrim, new interim director of the MMVI (replacing Abdelaziz Idrissi, appointed head of all the Kingdom’s museums), recalled for his part that “the Mohammed VI Museum has built a certain notoriety thanks to the exhibitions it has hosted since its creation in 2014“. He also underlines the importance of this tribute to Chaïbia Tallal, “one of the major figures of modern and contemporary art in Morocco».

Salima Aïssaoui, curator of the exhibition, confided that the idea of ​​bringing the famous Moroccan artist closer to the avant-garde movement came from Mehdi Qotbi himself. “From this idea, I thought about how to establish a link between Chaïbia and the CoBra movement”, she explains. «We benefited from excellent cooperation with the movement and its supporters, to put together this exhibition which highlights the emotional links and creates a form of dialogue between these two artistic universes.“, she continued.

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It was in 1965 that Chaïbia Tallal’s career experienced a decisive turning point, after her meeting with Cérès Franco, who would become her gallery owner, and the artist Corneille, founding member of the CoBrA group (contraction of Copenhagen, Brussels and Amsterdam) . Seduced by the energy and originality of her work, both became fervent defenders of the Moroccan artist, recognizing in her paintings the same virtues that they appreciated within the avant-garde movement.

Today, the MMVI intends to celebrate this heritage by presenting an artistic dialogue where the free and spontaneous spirit of Chaïbia Talal meets the dazzling creativity of the CoBrA movement. An invitation to discover the astonishing modernity of this pioneer of Moroccan art, at the heart of an exhibition which highlights the importance of cultural exchanges and openness to the world.