1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair: Galleries and special projects of the sixth edition in Africa

Tuesday 17th December 2024 08:55 PM

The biggest global platform pour contemporary Art from Africa and the African diaspora1-54 Contemporary African Art Fairis back from January 30 to February 2. The event will be held in Marrakech at La Mamounia hotel and in the DaDa multidisciplinary art spacein the heart of the Medina.

The 2025 edition of Marrakech will welcome more than 30 exhibitors from fourteen different countries, including fourteen galleries from the African continent. Among the exhibitors, ten galleries are based in Morocco offering local and international audiences an unrivaled showcase of artistic talent and cultural wealth. “Newcomers include C+N Gallery Canepaneri (Milan, Italy), Space Un (Tokyo, Japan), Galerie Farah Fakhri (Abidjan, Ivory Coast), Hunna Art (Kuwait City, Kuwait), Le Blue Violin Gallery (Sidi Bou Said/Tunis, Tunisia) and Abla Ababou Galerie (Rabat, Morocco), who will participate for the first time in one of the three global editions from 1-54,” says a press release from the event. There gallerye Abla Ababou will present at the fair a selection of works by an entirely Moroccan team composed of artists such as Hakim Benchekroun, Ilias Selfati and Fatiha Zemmouri. Among the exhibitors based in Morocco, we will find 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fairthe Galerie 38 stand with a selection of works by artists such as Mohamed Hamidi, Kendell Geers, Younes Khourassani, Ghizlane Agzenaï, Meriam Benkirane et Yacout Hamdouch. The Atelier 21 stand will highlight the work of artists such as M’barek Bouhchichi, Margaux Derhy, Safaa Erruas, Malick Welli, et Najia Mehadji.

For this part, African Arty offers a solo stand of sculptures and of paintings by the Moroccan artist Abderrahmane Rahoule. “This year’s fair welcomes an exciting range of exhibitors, including notable newcomers from further afield like Tokyo Space One et Hunna Art of Kuwait. We are proud to continue our long-standing partnerships with Audi Moroccothe TGCC Foundation et Christie’swhose support allows the Fair to remain an essential platform for celebrating the diversity and innovation of contemporary African art. With a solid special projects program and collaborations with local and international institutions, 1-54 Marrakech offers a unique opportunity to engage with Morocco’s vibrant cultural landscape and connect with the broader global artistic community,” says the founding director of 1- 54, Touria El Glaoui.

Special projects

Since its launch in Morocco in 2018, 1-54 has managed to increase its presence in Marrakechserving as a thriving hub for the continent’s art scene, with almost half of the galleries participants from the continent. For this edition, 1-54 Marrakech will once again offer a dynamic program of events and special projects, in partnership with local and international institutions, including the TGCC Foundation, Think Tanger, L’appartement 22 and the Kalhath Foundation. The latter presents a project by Amina Benbouchta which celebrates the art of embroidery as a vehicle social commentary and personal reflection. During his residence in the Kalhath InstituteAmina Benbouchta collaborated with twenty Indian master embroiderersmerging his artistic vision with traditional techniques. This body of work interrogates gender narratives and societal spaces occupied by human and non-human entities, establishing embroidery work as a form of language in its own right. Through motifs such as crinolines and hybrid figures, Benbouchta recontextualizes symbols typically associated with constraint, transforming them into tools of healing and unity. For its part, the TGCC Foundation will present the talents of Future Prix throughout the 4 editions in the collective exhibition. The exhibition brings together the works of Khadija El Abyad, Mouad El Bissaoui, Malek Sordo, Yassine Sellame, Mehdi Ait El Mallali, Rida Tabit et Kamil Bouzoubaa-Grivelvoluntarily curated as a testimony to emerging Moroccan creation. Tanger Print Club is a studio dedicated to art and to the craft of screen printing. It provides a collaborative space for artists, artisans and researchers to experiment and innovate in printing. For over eight years, Tanger Print Club has worked with emerging and established artists, as well as galleries, museums and independent art centers. Its mission is to foster a circular economy in the art sector and inspire a new generation of art collectors promoting independent publishing practices and printing.

Independent publishing and printing practices. For 1-54 Marrakech, Tanger Print Club, created in 2017 by the cultural organization Think Tangerpresents a selection of its artists, including Laila Hida, Yto Barrada, Anuar Khalifi and Omar Mahfoudi.