Casablanca Art School Exhibition at Tate St Ives Celebrates Moroccan Modernism
At Tate St Ives, there's an exhibition focusing on the Casablanca Art School (CAS), curated by Morad Montazami, Madeleine de Colnet, and director Anne Barlow. It showcases around 600 artworks from 22 artists, spotlighting three key figures: Mohammed Chabâa, Mohamed Melehi, and Farid Belkahia, who were at the helm from 1962 to 1974. This display captures CAS's evolution from a colonial offshoot of the Paris École des Beaux Arts to a modernist hub for Moroccan artists and women. Highlights include Abderrahman Rahoule's ceramic piece and footage from the 1969 Presence Plastique exhibition in Marrakesh. The exhibition runs until 14 January 2024 before heading to the Sharjah Art Foundation and KW Institute for Contemporary Art in Berlin.
Key facts
- Exhibition at Tate St Ives features around 600 works by 22 artists from the Casablanca Art School.
- Curated by Morad Montazami, Madeleine de Colnet, and Anne Barlow.
- Focus on Mohammed Chabâa, Mohamed Melehi, and Farid Belkahia.
- CAS broke from colonial heritage, accepted Moroccan nationals and female students.
- Includes footage of 1969 Presence Plastique outdoor exhibition in Marrakesh.
- Highlights contributions of Bert Flint and Souffles magazine by Abdellatif Laâbi.
- CAS artists represented Morocco at First Biennale of Arab Art in Baghdad, 1974.
- Exhibition runs until 14 January 2024, then travels to Sharjah and Berlin.
Entities
Artists
- Mohammed Chabâa
- Mohamed Melehi
- Farid Belkahia
- Abderrahman Rahoule
- Malika Agueznay
- Mustapha Hafid
- Mohamed Hamidi
- Abdelkrim Ghattas
- Toni Maraini
- Bert Flint
Institutions
- Tate St Ives
- Casablanca Art School
- Paris École des Beaux Arts
- Bauhaus
- KW Institute for Contemporary Art
- Sharjah Art Foundation
- Goethe-Institut Marokko
- ThinkArt
- Zamân Books
Locations
- St Ives
- United Kingdom
- Casablanca
- Morocco
- Marrakesh
- Baghdad
- Iraq
- Asilah
- Sharjah
- United Arab Emirates
- Berlin
- Germany
- Rabat
- France