As part of the numerous activities of the Casamémoire association for the Heritage Days in Casablanca, “Les Inspirations ÉCO” was intrigued by a new cultural place, not very large in terms of its surface area, but with dreams in real size and perched at a certain height.
The place is called “Comment dire”. Located on the 11th floor of a building on Boulevard Hassan II, it offers a breathtaking view of the city. From May 17 to 19, an artistic exhibition of different disciplines was held there (photography, illustration, painting, video, collage, etc.), a slam workshop, text readings, etc., as well as a pop-up corner, ‘that is to say a temporary place of sale for different creators or bargain hunters.
We could thus find very designer pottery objects, cinema posters from the 1960s and vinyl records, artisanal jewelry, perfume and scented candles, and vintage telephones, that is to say corded, with a rotary dial to dial numbers. While it is not certain that those under twenty know how to use it, it is certain that the dominant concept in the choice of exhibitors was pop culture, in the literal sense: popular culture and everyday objects. A special mention of creator Mehdi Gharnit is in order. He presents on canvas, t-shirts and mugs the already nostalgic silhouette of the animal-drawn carts which have just disappeared from the streets of Casablanca.
“Comment dire” was created in January 2022 by two associates: Nessrine Nabzar and Florence Cook. Coming from the world of books and bookstores, they wanted to broaden their scope of action – without abandoning publishing, since the Carrefour des livres bookstore was also present -, the first told us.
“The cultural space is today divided into a part for the exhibition, on the theme of heritage in motion, and the perched pop-up, an ephemeral sales place whose stands are organized in partnership with the Vitamine association, which deals with Moroccan creators. We also organize author signings, book launches, writing workshops, masterclasses with manga artists, for example, or others.” Among the artists exhibited, all of quality, Nessrine Nabzar cites as an example “Christian Mamoun, Hassan Ouazzani, the photographs of Brahim Benkirane, the collages of Zineb Guessous, without forgetting Azrahi and his nostalgic paintings of Morocco, with cards to play or tea wrappers” Needless to say, the place was always full. In short, a welcoming and very lively eleventh floor, for which we are impatiently awaiting the next activity open to the public, probably at the start of the school year in September. “Comment dire” is a name to follow on social media.
Murtada Calamy / ECO Inspirations
