Art history: the temptation of Tangier

Tangier has always been a city “between”. Between Africa and Europe, separated by the Strait of Gibraltar and its 14 kilometers, between the ogre Atlantic and the delicate Mediterranean, between Muslims, Christians and Jews, between great wealth and immense poverty. Offshore everything that comes from or enters the Mediterranean passes. Tangier has continued to be coveted by the Spanish, the Portuguese, the English and the French. A strategic and therefore diplomatic issue, this is where the painter Delacroix arrived in 1832 with Count Charles de Mornay, French political emissary to Morocco. The artist dreamed of Tangier for a long time before embarking in Toulon.

On arrival, the bustling city does not disappoint, teeming with alleys clinging to the hillside. Delacroix moved into a vast palace which had recently become the charming Dar Niaba museum, now home to works by numerous traveling artists. Delacroix is ​​captivated by the density of colors of the city, its intertwined streets, the people of Tangier, notables and artisans. He fills notebooks with drawings. Some will become paintings.

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Drunk with new sensations, the painter contemplates the sun waking up over the Mediterranean and falling asleep over the Atlantic. Arriving in winter, he observes the mist which blurs the lights, dilutes them, erases the Europe normally seen beyond the sea. Delacroix also paints “exotic” women, a somewhat caricatured vision of the Orient. Leaving the Dar Niaba museum means visiting the painter’s paintings. The stalls, the mad rush of the people of Tangier, their smiles and their misery, their banter, their resigned looks, the call to prayer, everything is what was.

The myth of an easy city

Delacroix opened the ball for artists. In 1912, Matisse arrived in Tangier, his morale in poor condition. The colors of the city wake him up, euphorize him. In the 1950s, homosexual writers worried in their countries, particularly in the United States, headed to Tangier in order to live freely there, satisfying their fantasies, buying their pleasures. Then, William Burroughs, Truman Capote, Jack Kerouac, Tennessee Williams, Jean Genet will through their stories maintain the myth of an easy city which is not. Pierre Bergé and Yves Saint Laurent created Villa Mabrouka there, a masterpiece overlooking the sea that has become a discreet and refined hotel. Next door sits the actress Mireille Darc. She died just after the work was completed without being able to enjoy her jewel.

Oil painting “View of Tangier” by Eugène Delacroix, 1858. (Credits: LTD/ AGLILEO COLLECTION/Aurimages via AFP)

These residences are located on the side of a cliff, in the heights of the Kasbah district. There is a two-in-one museum. The Kasbah Museum is a gigantic palace with an unexpected garden. It tells the countless stories of covetousness of which Tangier was the object of prehistory by the Phoenicians, Carthaginians or Romans, a succession of civilizations which chase each other or fit together. More unexpected, a related building dedicated to contemporary Art. Recently, a striking exhibition was devoted to… Cuban painters, recalling the past of their island, the daughter of African slaves. The exhibition presented the best known of them, Wifredo Lam, admired by his friend Picasso who, although fascinated by the arts of Africa, never went there.

The other artists exhibited denounce the Internet madness, the virtual cyclone which dehumanizes, the waste linked to the consumer society, the hysteria regarding the use of drones (painting by Frank Martínez representing an alligator which tries to grab a drone) or the rights of men to live whatever their culture (work by Esterio Segura with tied up books). By exhibiting “insolent”, the Kasbah State Museum reveals a country in questioning, in heartbreak. One prohibition remains: attacking the king remains literally a crime of lèse-majesté.

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Art sneaks into the backs of improbable stalls. Small perfume shop with works by contemporary artists (NoBorder), tiny garage with paintings behind motorcycles… the city cannot resist the temptation of today’s art. In a gray and neglected neighborhood, three spaces are trying through culture to change the hot and dangerous nature of rue Khalid-Ibn-El-Oualid (formerly rue Vélasquez). Prostitution and drugs would have condemned the neighborhood to despair if a clothing store (Zawia) did not exhibit works there or the Les Insolites bookstore had not become an essential space for erudite gourmands.

Next door, the Kiosk, an alternative place, skilfully displays contemporary works. The space, which also houses a bookstore, allows you to reflect on the place of art in the city while enjoying couscous prepared by the artists, the souls of the place. The Kiosk, like other places or creators in Tangier, was the guest of the Art Explora festival, which took place at the end of September in Tangier.

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Stopovers with variable geometry

Thus, before dropping anchor in La Spezia (Italy), where it is currently located, a huge catamaran docks in Tangier with a lot of foghorns. The museum ship Art Explorer is the bow of an adventure which aims to bring together Mediterranean countries by highlighting their cultures. The Art Explora foundation, imagined by billionaire patron Frédéric Jousset, a fine diplomat and intrepid and ambitious businessman, is organizing the incredible and still chaotic odyssey of the catamaran and its cohort of events on land. Like Delacroix, he and his team dreamed of Tangier long before they got there. The long preparation was crazy.

The arrival of the museum ship in Tangier. (Credits: LTD/Salaheddine EL BOUAAICHI)

At the quayside, container exhibition halls were installed well before theArt Exploreritself a luxurious spectacle. When the catamaran arrived, hundreds of curious people, a mainly female audience, showed their enthusiasm. Ultra-trendy video installation (with support from the Louvre), photo exhibition of Mediterranean creators, 3D headsets, performances have been designed to seduce the curious, often confused. The Art Explora festival has exceptionally opened up places to art. The old customs house can’t believe it housed minimalist and conceptual works. Not sure that the visitors joined despite the generous involvement of the mediators.

It was the music that won over the people of Tangier. As soon as the boat arrives, the group of women (Bnat Louz) sings and sways to traditional tunes, accompanied by a DJ, abstract videos and an electric guitar. A great mix that engages the public. At the end of the exhibitions, Azzam and Malika say: “We liked it a lot but didn’t understand anything. » Very (too) connected the adventure ofArt Explorer ? She’s only just getting started. The boat has already left. After Tangier, Rabat and Malaga, before Albania, stopovers with variable geometry are planned until 2026, if the geopolitical context allows it.