Casablanca has hosted a new cultural event: the artist Majida Khattari and SoArt Gallery have launched the first edition of MajicCasa which took place from April 21 to 30, 2017, at the RM Automobiles Classiques garage in the La Villette district.
MajicCasa is emerging as a bridge between Africa and Europe by alternately inviting artists from both continents for an exhibition that aims to create a dialogue. Morocco is a must, and Casablanca a place of choice to highlight the creation of the African continent, in all its diversity.
"I moved between Africa and Europe, today I want to transmit the wealth of these two continents to young artists, it is for them that I created this event. They need to be encouraged, to face the difference to enrich themselves, "says Majida Khattari.
For Ghizlaine Guessous, the director of SoArt Gallery, MajicCasa is an opportunity to invite dialogue between cultures. "We really push the walls of our gallery by doing MajicCasa. This is a very interesting dynamic that is created when an artist works on the question of the links between Africa and Europe. It must position itself in relation to its own origins, its culture. And this opens up a field of possibilities: when we think about ourselves, we reflect on the other and on his difference. This is how we can change mentalities. And with them also the art market. "
MajicCasa is entirely from a private initiative: Majida Khattari and SoArt Gallery have joined forces to offer their city of hearts a cultural event that will make Casablanca shine beyond its borders.
MajicCasa evolves around the exhibition "Désir de soi ... e" by Franco-Moroccan artist Majida Khattari. By questioning herself on her cultural roots, on the infuences and the links between Europe and the West, the artist awakens questions, and invites to an intimate journey: the meeting with oneself. An exhibition composed by photographs, paintings and installations, with more than twenty original unpublished works.
For the realization of this event, Majida Khattari and SoArt Gallery were able to gather many know-how by surrounding themselves with specialists: for the first time, the fashion designer Siham Tazi participated in a contemporary art exhibition by collaborating with Majida Khattari in the sculpture-clothing design.
The scenography of "Desire for oneself ... e" is signed by Said Berrada, one of the Kingdom's most sought-after architects. Rafk Kamal Lahlou and Abdelmajid Alaoui, two great entrepreneurs and enthusiasts of beautiful cars, welcome MajicCasa in their RM Automobiles Classiques garage. And to illustrate the links between Africa and Europe, the curator of the exhibition was entrusted to Simone Hoffmann, art specialist and filmmaker for the French-German channel Arte.
MajicCasa offered three days of cultural activity: from April 21 to 23, 2017, La Villette district turned into an artistic zone. For this first edition, MajicCasa wanted to highlight the young talents of the School of Fine Arts in Casablanca, and invited Moïra Dalant, a young French artist for a performance that focused on the links between the two continents .
The program was declined in a day discovered on April 21 with the intervention in situ of the street artist OTM (Ecole des Beaux Arts Casablanca), masterclass Siham Tazi and Said Berrada, guided tour of the exhibition "Desire for self .. .e "by artist Majida Khattari and performance Moïra Dalant.
Saturday, April 22 was dedicated to the transmission with the animation of a workshop around the performance by Moïra Dalant, the animation of a street art workshop, the presence of a Moroccan artisan embroiderer and the masterclass photography of Majida Khattari.
A free discovery day was held on Sunday, April 23, punctuated by guided tours of the exhibition "Desire for self ... e" with the curator Simone Hoffmann, and the opportunity to discover the classic cars of the RM garage. Classic Cars.
Through the dialogue established between African and European artists, MajicCasa has the ambition to promote exchanges between the two continents, and thus participate in the development of the African art market.