Art Moves Africa – Retracing Roots and Tracing New Routes: Mobility and Touring in North Africa

81
Country-Specific Information
Examples of mobility projects
HOSNI ALMOUKHLIS
L’UZINE
RENCONTRES
CHORÉGRAPHIQUES
DE CASABLANCA
KAW-KAW
BODA-BODA LOUNGE
Theatre practitioner Hosni Almoukhlis, head of
Théâtre de l’Opprimé in Casablanca, has travelled
to several West African countries for trainings
and festivals. In 2018, he organized the first
Rencontres africaines de théâtre social, with
artists from Senegal, Egypt and Tunisia invited
to Casablanca (an artist from Guinea-Bissau was
not able to attend due to a visa refusal).
Casablanca cultural centre L’Uzine has hosted
a number of events that spotlight African creative
scenes. The annual and multidisciplinary
Harambee Days showcases art from across the
continent, with live performances and exhibitions.
In 2018, l’Uzine organized Casalgéria in
collaboration with Algiers’ Brokkart to spotlight
contemporary Algerian photography, design, film,
music and visual arts.
The 2019 edition of the Rencontres chorégraphiques
de Casablanca, organized by Compagnie
Col’jam, will have a spotlight on African
dance. In 2020, Marrakech’s Festival On Marche!,
run by Compagnie Anania, will host the Biennale
of African dance.
In 2013, Marrakech’s Le18 initiated a project
named Kaw-kaw which aimed to reactivate the
political question of the Greater Maghreb. The
project included a 2-month residency, which
brought together one artist from each of the
countries, as well as an exhibition and a cycle of
presentations by scholars, curators and artists.
In 2018, Tangiers’ Mahal Art Space was the
first Moroccan arts space to host the annual
Boda-Boda Lounge, a 3-day, transnational video
festival in which a selection of video art pieces
by African and diasporan artists are screened
simultaneously in ten spaces across the continent.